Courage

Strength is little victories —
when you’re breathless but you breathe,
speechless but you speak,
trembling but you express
what you feel.

There is no standing ovation.
It is not something for which
there is recognition.
It is minute to minute,
day to day; a rising sea
and you swim.

It is feeling your way through the dark,
your hope the tiniest spark
held safely in your heart;
it keeps beating, yes,
your drum is loud, proud,
authentic.

Vulnerability is courage.
It is the naked soul
that sings off key
but sings anyway
because it is your key;
the stripped heart
that leaks its secrets,
but pumps anyway
because it doesn’t apologize
for being real.

_