They called me strong
because I didn't leave.
Endurance is not the same as choice.
Myth taught us to admire the burden,
never the refusal.
Isn't it ironic how we glorify
the weight,
singing praises
to what should never
have been endured?
They praised Atlas for holding the sky,
never asked why
he was never allowed
to put it down.
The heavens rested easier than he did,
yet we never questioned
the endurance.
They called him resilient
because he kept pushing
the same stone.
No one applauds the refusal
only the man
who returns to the hill.
Sisyphus could have been free,
but endurance
had already become
his identity.
They applauded my strength
I had never stood up.
Muscles built from silence
are still prisons.
Endurance keeps the world stable.
Refusal threatens it.
They don't fear the strong.
They fear the ones who leave.
YOU ARE READING
Halcyon
PoetryFragments of a heart, stitched together in verses. An assemblage of my poems. (Part-II) Winner of Wattpad's Shortys2025 Highest Rankings: #4 in poem #127 in poetry
