Real Strength (by James Leland Ludeau III from Lafayette,LA)

i thought that muscles signified strength
and then a toxin  ate away at all that
a toxin that i invited in
because i thought i'd play God for a minute
and erase what time was doing to me
now i see that strength is surviving
and making the most of what you're given
when the storm comes
it's how solid your core is that counts
not about how tan you are
or how smooth your forehead is
it's about the state of your soul
how you treat the person standing next to you
that false, frozen look is not what it's about
the feeling on the inside when you know you care about someone
that's what life is
that we care
that we dare
and i sit on my couch in little else than my skin
and i can smile
because i'm surviving it
a neuro toxin
ain't gonna be how i fade away
my real strength lies in how i deal with all of this
and the greatest example of my strength
is not how swole my biceps are
but how wide my smile is
despite that inside i'm still under attack