The Weight I Carry

By Madison Mercer

I used to wear resilience like a badge of honor

Stuck in survival mode

Unsure of another way to live

Thinking that the weight I carried was a sign of strength

Unaware that I was deserving,

Desperately needing,

Softness and safety

Madison Mercer is a contemporary poet, sharing her life through a lens of love and loss, merging grief and hope, connecting us all to our humanness. She currently resides in Lexington, Kentucky with her cat, Moon.