Quotable

Once in a while I wonder

what true strength really is.

Who is it that defined it?

Who is it that claimed it his?

And why is it we think that

so few of us are strong?

Are the rest of us truly weak?

Or are we simply wrong?

Mustn’t cry in public.

Mustn’t cry at all.

Be strong and sturdy, always.

Let no one see you fall.

For then, “You’re weak,” they’ll tell you.

They’ll make you feel so small.

Smaller than you already feel

while they stand straight and tall.

And somehow they’ll be called

the words you’d like to hear.

They’re so brave and they’re so strong,

with no weakness and no fear.

But really, is it them?

The ones who should be praised?

For they aren’t the ones

who, an issue, faced.

It was you who was made

to feel weak by those who jeered.

It was you who moved on

after you weeped and were greeted by sneers.

And move on, you did,

didn’t you?

You did,

though they were cruel.

After it all,

you stood once more,

ignoring the hurt,

ignoring the sore.

But stand, you did, didn’t you?

You rose above, alone.

So perhaps you’re strong, I wonder

if there’s more to strength than told.

Mustn’t give up.

Mustn’t weep.

Mustn’t feel fear.

Mustn’t be weak.

But what is weak?

I don’t understand.

Are you weak if you fall

while lending a helping hand?

And is strength in only winners,

those who rise above the rest?

Or is it in those who pick up others

when they are put to the test?

Once in a while I wonder

what true strength really is.

If perhaps it’s not just a lack of weakness.