My vulnerable side

I kept pretending to be strong

I had imbibed that it was wrong

To display to the world your vulnerability

So I carefully cultivated the inability

To talk about how vulnerable I felt inside

It became such an ingrained habit to hide

My sensitivity, my weakness that I would not

Acknowledge it even in my private thoughts..

*

In the pragmatic world this worked well for me

But when I tried to rekindle my dormant creativity

I found that I could not keep up the charade

Of invulnerability around me, I had to go behind the facade

Of indomitability that I had constructed with care

To create something meaningful, I had to dare

To feel my vulnerability, that would find expression

In my amateur attempts at artistic creation

*

If I operate from a place of feigned strength, I know

The creative juices are unlikely to flow

My writing would be flat, my words lifeless Being vulnerable and honest, I confess

Was hard at the beginning but now I see

How, in writing better, it has helped me

Being open and vulnerable has bolstered my creativity

And that in turn, has made a better person out of me