My father once said to me,
"He who makes himself a sheep,
will be eaten by the wolves."
And so my strength I learned to keep.
My father's father once said to me
"Storms make trees take deeper roots."
So I learned to be a tree.
And strength was in my boots.
My mother once said to me,
"Strength is Ingenuity my dear,
Be ready to change to times."
And so I was strongly sincere
And flexible (unlike a tree) were my rhymes.
My mother's mother once said to me,
"Strength comes from inside my love,
You must find your own source."
And it felt like strength came from above
But my confusion was enforced.
Generations had shared their knowledge
On how to be strong
"Don't bare your feelings"
"Wait out the storms"
"Be flexible"
"Find strength in who you are."
I sat and pondered the contradictions
And found that they were all true.
I found my strength within my family
And like them I became strong too.
