Could You Hold Me Whilst I Weep?

Could you hold me whilst I weep?
My being requires to crumble
To splinter
Utterly shatter
Before it can phoenix again.

My heart has clutched on to strength too long
Scotch-taping itself at every instance
Bleeding through the cracks
Yet soldiering on
Silently
Lest someone suspect anything.

'Tis a monumental task
To breathe while your breath is leaking
And maintain pretense
That all is traveling well.
'Tis like shouldering a mountain
Balancing each layer of hardened tears
And painting a smile
On a struggling face.

I've just been holding on
To each fragment
Each thread
Each microscopic piece
Of the web of intertwined responsibilities,
Even to the intangible pressure
Of the building pain
Whilst they all pulled at me from impossible directions.
I had to.
I couldn't allow collapse
Even momentarily.
The only thing to do
Was to consciously take a step
And then another
And another -
Forward.
Bending,
Only to not break.

But now
The timer has gone off
The effort can cease
I can trough
I must
To being the process to crest again.

All I ask is
Could you hold me whilst I weep?

Triumph

Swinging in the seas
Knocking around the twirling waves
Splintering as the water churns
Sputtering as the crest comes to rest, momentarily

Tossed and spurned
He grasps and gurgles
Waiting for the air to unchoke him
And free him from his suspension in this uncertainty

Blinking away the unreal tears
He attempts to find a parting in the water
To regain some balance
From the swaying of the sea

Assembling his bold quotient
He plucks strength from each quarter
He displaces the fear attempting to shatter him
And grabs a handful of the waves

Wrestling with this beautiful, fierce Beast
He fends off the swells with astonishing courage
Not providing consent to let himself collapse
He enlightens the unsuspecting surges with his intense might

Battling it out, he thrashes and whirls
Unrelenting and determined
The sea tries every trick she knows
But against his will, she is inadequate

Slowly, she concedes, quietly
And admits that her competition conquered her
Fair and square
Despite being only a fraction of her intimidating size

She never encountered another like him
Who refused to relent
And admired his display of valor and courage
Learning from him in the process

She swims away, defeated
But transformed by the experience
And the victor breathes to see another day
Flourishing in the release of his Triumph.