the strong one

me, i don’t cry
and you see that
i’m the strong one

i can
tell you it’s right to feel the way you do
when the people you call home
call you stranger
i can hold you in my embrace
but my tears
won’t acquaint themselves with yours

i say the years have thickened my skin
i say i carry pain differently from you
i say i’m not afraid of tomorrow
i say
i say

but some days, i can feel the blistering acid
sinking into my pores
setting my nerves screaming alight
i don’t bleed, but
thick or thin,
skin is skin

you, you cry
and i see that
you’re the strong one