"Defiant" - Bahamas AI Image
©A. Derek Catalano
Swallow Your Pride
The walls we build with stubborn hands are thick and reinforced,
Defending positions where our errors first surfaced and sourced.
We wear our rightness like a shield, a heavy, iron vest,
And turn a simple difference into a battlefield test.
The ego is a clever thief that steals our peace of mind,
Convincing us that giving in is leaving strength behind.
It whispers that to compromise is purely to concede,
Blinding our eyes to the true path and the growth that we both need.
But stand within that fortress long, and notice how it feels—
The isolation grows as cold as hardened, heavy steel.
To never bend, to never yield, to never say we’re wrong,
Is just a slow, exhausting march to where we don’t belong.
For truth is rarely found within a loud, unyielding voice,
And staying stuck in errors past is a self-inflicted choice.
The hardest words the tongue can shape, that cut through foolish pride,
Are simply: "I am sorry, I was wrong on this inside."
It feels like swallowing a stone, a bitter, heavy pill,
To look at someone else and say we lacked the insight or skill.
The throat goes dry, the spirit shrinks, the pulse begins to race,
As we dismantle the facade and step down from our place.
Yet when that heavy stone goes down, a strange release occurs,
The toxic fog of arrogance immediately clears and blurs.
The chest expands, the burden drops, the heavy air grows light,
And we discover losing face is not the end of sight.
For in the space where ego died, a garden starts to grow,
Of empathy and listening, and things we didn’t know.
The doors of communication, once locked and bolted tight,
Swing open to a softer room, away from blinding fight.
We learn to hear the other side, to see through broader eyes,
And realize that admitting flaws is what makes a person wise.
No longer bound by a demand to always hold the crown,
We lay the weapons of our pride upon the open ground.
Change cannot find a stubborn heart that claims it knows the way,
And progress stalls when vanity commands the words we say.
But when we swallow down that pride, the healing can commence,
We trade the armor of the self for honest, shared defense.
It is the only path to reach a deeper, truer space,
Where human beings learn to meet in honesty and grace.
So take the breath, accept the truth, let the old defenses fall—
For swallowing your pride today is the bravest step of all.
©A. Derek Catalano/Gemini
