{"sf1_id":2176602,"sf2_id":"ynZ8zg5e","title":"What Can Be Made of the Shrapnel","author":"Apolarbear17","words":350,"posted_at":"2024-09-08T21:08:19.000Z","tags":["Armor","Battle","Crossfire","Metaphor","Old Wounds","Reflection","Rough Experiences","Shrapnel","Vent Poetry","aftermath","battlefield","scars"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2176602-what-can-be-made-of-the-shrapnel","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/ynZ8zg5e","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/77/fa/77fab5b9-135e-4958-bd3d-02c34ff5893b","description":"Wrote this after going through a rough few months and getting through what I thought was the worst of it last year. This year and the following months taught me otherwise but life isn’t all rough patches and I like to think this poem reflects that at least a little. It’s about battles where we get stuck in the middle, trust and protecting ourselves. It can be hard but there’s still moments of peace between the battles when you and the world let there be. Originally posted in June 2023.","content":"What Can Be Made of the Shrapnel\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;By: A.X. Bueno\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\n \n\nBeen caught in the crossfire of\u0026nbsp; a lot of battles\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nEspecially lately for reasons that don’t feel like they matter\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nAs much as the scars left once the ceasefire is declared\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nPractically always by someone other than me after a time\n\n \n\nThey’ll deal with the results of it all in their own ways and me in mine\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nUsually from the sidelines as I clean up shrapnel and scars\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nSometimes there’s a knife or more fire that comes directly my way\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nWhether it’s from the side, front or behind depends on the fight and the day\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nThat leaves me needing to protect myself from unexpected or unfortunately timed blows\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nThere’s not much around but the shrapnel though\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nSo I use the resources I have and fashion that into a sort of armor\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nThe best protection I can muster to prevent future wounds and scars\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nIt’s not ideal but then again so few things are\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nWhen I’m just trying to make it through\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nWith scars that I don’t want to risk letting out in the open\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nWhich makes it harder for them to close\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nAnd harder to just relax and breathe\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nYet you can’t always cling to safety and the security in being alone\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nYou’ve got to take off that armor sometimes and not let the past drag you down\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nIt’s not easy shaking off the past and leaving those remnants behind\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nTo let the battles go to find some piece of mind\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nBecause the intensity, the frequency of them can vary but they do eventually end\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nI’ll take the moments of calm when I can to take the armor off from time to time\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nTo feel like I can rest by myself or with friends and not risk getting left in the shaken up dust\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nI just wish I didn’t feel like I needed this armor to begin with\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nBut enough experience has taught me to keep it either close or on\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nMaybe someday I can take it off and be free enough to let it sit and rust\u0026nbsp;  \n\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;"}