A small boy crying is a grown man crying.

Both sad.

Neither sadder.

Both lose “dignity”

For the man who cries is weak

And so is the boy. 

We are taught to be strong

BUT HOW CAN WE BE STRONG

And yet so fragile

Like paper when ripped 

Like glass when shattered

They can be pieced back together

But they are not the same after.

 

We get pushed down and are expected to get up.

BUT WHAT IF WE CANT. get. Up. 

People who fall

Unable to stand

Having to sit and watch as others fall.

But return back to standing

As if nothing happened at all 

But for you,

The fall can not be undone.

And you feel you’re alone

Like you’re the only one.

So you sit

Growing strong

While emotionally frail

Never know what the real world entails.

 

Life.

Where you never stay down

For if you do 

You get swept away by the pressure

Of everything else.

Consumed? 

Anxiety.

Drowned?

Depression.

For the waves are strong

And the currents and pressure.

If you can not learn to swim

Learn to stand. 

For the water

Is not deep.

 

Both the boy and the man stand for the first time

Walking a step

With each step it brightens 

For learning to stand the overwhelming stream

The immense pressure you felt? 

Just a breeze.

In the wind

You may fall back in the stream of pressure 

But always know,

You learned how to stand.

And at some point in life,

you will learn to swim.

But for now your Journey

Has just begun.

 

And if you can not stand all alone

It is okay to ask for help.

For now,

The man and the boy walk

Now holding hands

Because both of them learned how to stand 

together.