The Heart Has To Be Tough

The heart has to be tough
To be tender enough to feel,
Without giving way to weakness;
Strong enough to deal
With the conflict of emotions
From the tumult of events,
The frustrations, joys, and sorrows
That each new day presents.

True courage comes of facing
A thousand little blows
Aimed at your self-confidence,
And no one ever knows
The battles that you fight within,
The foes you've overcome.
Past victories don't matter
if the next makes you succumb.

The face that you present the world
Masks what you want to hide,
Cause no one wants the world to know
What's roiling you inside.
The greatest act of courage
That anyone can do
Is reaching out to someone else
Who's hurting, just like you.

When two wounded souls are joined,
They're stronger as a whole
Than individuals alone,
Paying a lonely toll.
The sum of them together
Is greater than the parts.
They find the key to healing
Within each other's hearts.

Yet we wear a brave face,
Meeting each new day
With the limited resources
At hand, in our our own way.
We don't make the connection.
And the only reason why
we do not heal each other
Is because we will not try.