Protego Totalum
When the healer asked at my illness
I explained
the permeable membrane
that is my heart space —
how compassion
and empathy have
always been allowed
free and unlimited egress
it is the mark of a good girl
a good daughter
a good sister
a good Catholic
to a fault, a good person
to a fault and this time
to a gait hobbled by the weight
by too much give, and not enough take
And so she prescribed for me
a Protego Totalum,
a silent incantation
complete with a swish and a flick
that seals up the leaks,
and saves the good for healing.
Poem ©2022, Jen Payne. #NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month. If you like this poem, you can read similar in my books and zines, available from Three Chairs Publishing on my ETSY SHOP. They come autographed, with gratitude and a small gift.
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