Struggling for a Metaphor [Prose by Me]

You’re stronger than you think, Jennie.

The words echo in my ears as I ponder the play I have just read.

Tennessee Williams, the author, comes up with these metaphors that are so poignant in every play he writes.

They are tragic though.

A delicate girl is a glass unicorn.  A girl who is full of passion is burning fire.  A girl who is married to a gay man and desperately wants to sleep with him is a cat scrambling on a hot tin roof.

I thought, as a writer, what metaphor could I use that is not tragic but empowering.

I hear

You’re stronger than you think, Jennie.

Right. Because I have been remembering how often I have been compared to that glass figure.  Yet then how often I have heard the opposing voice say those empowering words.

Perhaps that’s why I like birth so much.  It completely amazes me that women are so strong.  It makes me want to be strong.

The opposite of fear is strength really.  It’s the confidence in knowing who you were created to be.

I was created to bear.  To bear

To bear children

To bear weight

To bear promises

To bear trust

To bear responsibility

To bear hope

It is indeed a lot to carry.

Is the metaphor a pregnant woman?  Is it simpler than that?

I want it to be something that regenerates.  I think because that speaks most to my love of inner healing and growth.  Yes, I often feel drawn to the tragedy of plays like the Glass Menagerie because they speak to that part of my soul that feels so easily shattered.

Yet truth all the while whispers in my ear:

You’re stronger than you think.