“Strength” — A Prose Poem
Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash I am learning that the true meaning of strength, and it isn't, “Me”… It's God. I thought that to be strong meant to stand boldly, even when your heart is ripping apart. I thought strength meant having walls and pretending you're okay with a smile. I thought strength meant not crying. I thought it meant standing taut as your leg splits open. I thought it meant to pull from something within yourself to make it through. I thought it meant hiding your flaws and pretending that you know how to do things on your own. I am realizing now that this isn't strength. It's unexposed weakness, at times, masking brokenness and instability, dipped in fear. That is the backwards strength of the world. Strength is recognized by the world as a capacity to hide weakness rooted in self-dependency, a revamp of fear. (Thus, the truth; to be brave is to cry and to show weakness). Wordly wisdom commissions men to find strength in themselves, making mean