Standing strong,
Defences at the ready,
You're an island.

Advancing visitors
Navigate the surrounding rocks,
Searching for a berth.

Suspicious of company
Tendering Love,
You raise your drawbridge.

Scarred and sturdy,
Telling tales of old battles,
It deters all but the most resolute.

Battering rams,
Aiming to hammer home pain,
Have only strengthened your outer walls.

It's your foundations
That have taken the strain,
Your underpinning left vulnerable.

As the stormy seas
Grind at your ramparts,
Remember, you are not alone.

Every island needs an ally.
One to count on, offering
Staunch, steadfast support.

No atoll can withstand
A constant assault,
Even locked away from danger.

Isolation brings some comfort,
and with it,
Its own destruction.

Before your locks rust shut,
Consider your aim
And recognise the peril of your safety.

When you relinquish your struggles,
Lower your portcullis, and,
Remember, you are not alone.