I stand in the glass where the daylight shivers
Polishing courage along my skin
Folly waits by the door like weather
Trying to storm its way back in

I dress in patience thread by thread
Lace my calm where my heartbeat sits
Discourtesy knocks with rusted fingers
I turn the key and silence it

The road is rough with ruts and rumors
Shaking loose the names we earn
Every greeting hides a question
Every smile another turn

So I walk the byway slow and clever
Like Ulysses on the drifting sea
Let the loud parade pass by me
Their storms will never anchor me

Spear of silence
Shield of steady grace
I carry them softly
Never out of place

Arrows made of presumption crumble
Falling into dust midair
Impertinence lifts its paper dagger
I step aside and it cuts only air

I pretend I never heard the sharp word
Let it fade like smoke in bloom
Lift the moment with a gentler echo
Turn the insult out of the room

This is the art of quiet passage
Letting storms believe they missed their mark
I walk on with my lantern low
Cutting peace through the rising dark

Twilight leans on the edge of evening
I unbuckle every burdened part
But the inner plate of prudence stays
Secret armor round my heart

Folly prowls where the shadows gather
But finds no open door to try
I move like a side door traveler
Leaving no sorrow in my sky