Member-only story
You See, But I Feel
A moment of truth
More and more I hear the words, spoken like a given compliment,
“You’re a strong woman,” “You must be very strong,” “You have a strong inner strength,”
But, how much thought has gone before these words? Any?
Or were they spoken from the voice of empathy, pity, or any other emotions felt at length?
I thank you for your perceived kindness, your effort to try to understand,
But please, I beg of you, stop praising my strength, my resilience, my fight!
For I fear I’ve been fighting, struggling, bleeding for far too long,
It’s exhausting, wearily disheartening; forever battling darkness and never reaching that promising light.
You feel it’s empowering, but how very wrong you’ll one day discover you’ve truly been,
If only you stood beside me every step of the way,
But no! I’ve gone it alone, I’ve stood beside and defended the very people who always broke me in the end,
Become the butt of their jokes, had my loyalty tossed back at me as something evil I’d say.
You may see resilience, courage, strength and determination,
While behind the permanent mask I quiver in terror, in desperate…
