Aaron asked for a poem about having special muscles not as strong as everyone else’s.
People talk about being strong
Like it’s the most important thing in the world.
“Be strong!” they say, like it’s a choice you can make.
They’re wrong, though.
It’s much more important to be kind.
Everybody is a different amount of strong
It isn’t really something you choose
Some people have stronger bodies
Some people have stronger minds
Some people are stronger in their emotions.
None of those people are good because of the ways they are strong.
And nobody is bad, or wrong,
For the ways they’re not as strong.
Everybody needs help sometimes,
And we all need help with different things.
And the really cool thing about that is,
We can all help other people in different ways. And match our strong with other people’s weak
So it all balances out
And everyone gets what they need.
But only if we are kind.
If we are not kind,
All our different kinds of strongness
Stop mattering.
Because they’re not DOING anything.
They’re just there.
Like a spoon in a drawer
Not even stirring soup.
And
If we understand what it’s like
To need help with one kind of thing
Because in one way or another,
We aren’t as strong as other people
It means we won’t forget
How important it is
To use our own strongnesses
In kind ways.
Tom Juniper Poetry 