Unwavering Defiance

The strongest boy in our high school

Stood proud and tall, his long blond hair

Flowing like a lion's mane, untouched

By the discipline of sports.

The coaches, with their worn-out bodies

And bitter eyes, despised him

For his defiance, for his refusal

To conform to their standards.

They could not cage his spirit,

Could not tame his wildness.

He held the iron cross with ease,

His muscles quivering with strength

As he defied gravity, defied the teachers

Who stood by, powerless and envious.

We watched in awe, as he defied

Their expectations, their limitations.

He was a rebel in a world of conformity,

A lone wolf in a pack of sheep

And we, his fellow students, admired

His courage, his defiance, his refusal

To be like everyone else.

In those moments, as he held the iron cross,

We saw something beyond physical strength;

We saw a spirit that could not be broken,

A resilience that could not be tamed.

And as he fell to the mats,

We knew that he would rise again,

Stronger than before.

In our identical blue gym shorts,

With our last names scrawled across our chests,

We were all the same, except for him.

He was a symbol of resistance,

A beacon of hope for those who dared

To defy the constraints of society.

I had faith he could rise from the dead,

Not in a religious sense, but in a way

That spoke to his indomitable spirit.

He was the strongest boy in our high school,

Not because of his physical prowess,

But because of his unwavering defiance

And the unyielding strength of his soul. ("Unwavering Defiance") by Courtney Weaver Jr.