To Walk Whole

True strength is not in walls,

nor in the echoes of applause,

but in the trembling courage

to stand unguarded,

to face the storm without disguise.

It is not the armor you carry,

nor the towers you build,

but the quiet fire within—

the one that whispers: be yourself,

even when the world demands a mask.

Walls may keep danger out,

applause may dress you in light,

but both are fragile, fleeting,

while the self you embrace

is the only ground that does not break.

To dare is to live,

to embrace is to heal,

to remain whole is the triumph

that no recognition can bestow.

And so I walk,

not hidden, not seeking,

but free—

unshaken in my essence,

a soul unbroken,

a heart complete.