"Hardness," A Poetry Post

Endure hardness
like a good soldier.

If you are struck,
rebound;
stretched?
recoil.

If you are slapped,
turn your cheek and be
slapped,
turn your cheek and be
vigilant.

If you are socked in the gut,
get up and expect your
protective reflex.

If you are pummeled
close-fisted,
shift, shift, shift,
and defend.

If this is not the end,
you must endure!

If you are knocked down,
buckled,
unwind and climb.
Adjust.

If you are squeezed breathless,
keep your lips pursed and
suck in tight with
all your might!

Restrained?
Never stop bucking and
looking for loose places,
weak spots,
little bits of give.

Pressed to the ground from
head to foot?
Wiggle your pinky finger and toe to
keep your blood
flowing.

If you have breath,
you live! and
if you have blood,
you live!

If you must be alive,
and you must,
and you must make progress,
and you must,
then you must suffer and
suffer well.

Wear your stripes like a brand.
Woman or a man, be a man.
Stand up when you fall.
Take a stand.

Be hard.
And perspire.

-T. D. James-Moss