"What Is Strength, To You?"

"What Is strength, To You?" 

Strength is the loving partner of resiliency.
She is the lift of the back body as we bravely rise for another day.

Strength dances with the waltz of heartbreak,
Dipping and spinning,
The hand at the nape of the neck.

Strength lives in vulnerability,
She resides in our fire,
When we speak our Truth.

She is the visceral contraction of our screams.
The essential ingredient in our tears.

Strength occupies the air pocket between two praying hands.

She sits beside us
When we reach out to ask others for help.

Strength breathes in softness,
In the curvatures of a woman's body that hold everything...
And I mean, everything.

She rests in the fluid,
In the flow & in flexibility.

Strength rejoices in saying "yes!"
And stands steady
In the power of "no."

Strength is equally the bright jolt of caffeine
And the pastel calm of chamomile.

Strength is gravity.
Pulling, pushing, crashing and waning the tides.
She holds the Moon in her palms.

Strength is the Earth continuing to blossom, 
Even when She is hurting.

The glowing dust particles of the stars,
Twirling and circling around us
As we embark upon an adventure.

Strength is present in the midst of surrender.

In the brave act of smiling to a stranger.
In the milliseconds of a connected gaze.

She is the choice to stay.

She is the choice to leave.

The musculature of an olympian
And the wisdom of an atrophying body.

​Strength is the life-long student
Within every teacher.

Strength blooms in intimacy.
In the cradling of a friend or lover,
The exhale of an embrace.

Strength is in the room every time we say, 
"I am sorry."

Strength exists in the unknown
And thrives in uncertainty.

She is the deepest depth of the darkest parts of the ocean.
Silence.

A Mother whale and her calf
Traveling side-by-side
And the space between them.

Thank you toSarah Girard for asking me this question when I was a bit stuck in the physical realm. 
Thank you to Brique A Braque for accompanying this poem as it was written.