Strength is a word 

With echoes of defiance and war 

With a history 

Heavy 

With blood 

And the need to prove 

A call to defiance and deed 

That demands the fortitude 

To survive 

But

Were that 

The only face strength wore 

There would nothing 

Left to fight for 

 

Strength 

Is also 

The radical act 

Of staying soft

To build 

In the uncertain storm 

Something worth 

Living for

 

Strength

Is also

In leaving

To find

The green place

Were

You do more

The survive

You

Live