Pinctada

within a dark 

enclosed space

dank and solitary

i mark time 

and experience life 

pulsating around me

constantly 

bombarding  my world

with impurities 

from this vast unknown

with contaminants unrelenting

notwithstanding the carapace

protecting my core

i brace myself

and fortify my home

smothering the intruder

with a constant nacre

of warmth and compassion

until the unwelcomed transforms

to become my beloved

and from within my unattractive form

a precious beauty is miraculously born