Woman

Woman, you use harsh words to push us to arms length. You affect a brave front at all turns, trying the patience of those who care for you. You try so hard to be strong, stronger than those around. I admire your strength, your desire for independence. Had you been born in that time before memory was committed to paper, you would have been a warrior queen, a woman brave and strong, determined to care for those in her tiny world yet never to be a part of the camaraderie. As you are today, you choose to bear arms in a world that is growing ever larger, a world that may not welcome you as their champion and you say that is to your liking.

But I know you. I know who you really are. The iron armor you hold to yourself cannot dim the bright star of your soul. I see your true self in the moments of weakness you do not openly show to others. I see it in the way you play with the children, in the way you care for the elders in your family, and the love you have for the beasts under your protection. I’ve seen it in the quiet moments when you thought no one else was looking. Your bravado covers a heart larger than those around you could ever imagine. Your light shines brighter than the sun and would surely blind us all if you did not veil it from our sights.

Yet, you would deny this as well, always retreating from those who might understand, always setting up fortress walls to keep everyone out. Even so, you cannot hide from me. Sister of my heart, I offer compassion for your trouble soul. Yes, I know who you are, but I will carry your secret away with me and hope that someday, perhaps, you will shine as brightly for others as you have for me.