This is Strength

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Now I said,

"This is strength. This is how you plow through.

With a baby on your hip,

and a husband packing his bags.

Leaving forever.

Forgetting how much he loved you.

Leaving nothing behind,

taking everything with him,

except the children.

One, six, and eleven.

All three of them attached to you.

Because they know that you will stay strong.

That you will not break.

Through all those fights,

they always saw you come out on top

You are their hero.

And you are their mother.

A strange car pulls up, and you see it's her.

That woman.

She stole him from you.

All you want to do is grab a gun,

load it, aim, and pull the trigger.

But you can't.

You can't because you have too much to live for.

You don't want to set an example like that for your babies.

You don't want to leave them, just like their father is.

So you stand there, staring at the house.

Crashing objects, glass shattering noises fill the air.

And you know that when you walk inside,

You will have to be stronger than ever.

All your belongings,

everything you have inherited will be ruined.

Gone forever, just like this son-of-a-bitch.

And you won't be able to cry.

Not until you have a night alone.

And that will be awhile, you know this.

You know your children will be asking to sleep with you at night,

and stay attached to you during the day.

Baby, they do this so that you can't leave them, too.

Because they have to stay strong as well

They have to find the courage to believe

that whatever the reason the man they love is leaving,

it is not because of you or them.

It was his own damn choice.

And they have to see his choice as a mistake.

Because by doing this, he has made all of you stronger

All of you more courageous.

He will regret leaving one day,

and he won't be strong enough to live through that.

It will be awhile before you trust another man, but when you do,

You will find you are strong enough to let him in.

And love him, and let your children love him.

And that, my dear, is also strength.

 
 

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