She

This is another Cubby prompt. This was a hard one. I stared at the prompt and had nothing for days. I tried to write about heroes from a lot of different angles. I tried the standard Joseph Campbell ideal of a hero. I tried to go the direction of The L Squad. I tried to make it about blood donation since they gave me a card that says I’m a hero. I even tried to write it about squirrels. I thought of the last quatrain and built it from there. Then, it was easy. All the most important people in my life are women. I admire their strength and courage and the way they still find time for tenderness, not to be confused with Tinderness, sweetness, kindness, and love. Cubs still had to help me find a decent rhyme for laurels.

A hero is born not from the laurels
Of glory but from the worth of her feats
One who won’t sacrifice her morals
She stands up tall and never retreats

It’s the strength she shows when times are rough
She can still bear the weight of the world
The way her smile glows when she’s being tough
She is a woman, no longer a girl

In a world where she is often oppressed
She takes it and never loses her stride
She won’t allow herself to be suppressed
She carries herself with dignity and pride

It’s the subtly of her touch
As she puts her arms around me
A comfort I need so very much
And takes away my pain heroically

Advertisement