Whiplashed skin heals thick as leather,

Broken bones knit more strongly together,

The healed knuckle hits so much harder,

Road worn feet can walk so much farther,

The spirit diminished, rises much stronger,

The will cast in iron goes on so much longer,

Though the forging is painful, a torture at best,

As the fire and hammers put your steel to the test,

As ore you begin, dug out of the earth,

Unsure of your shape, your strength your worth,

But the hot forge of life will temper your word,

And the hammers will shape your wit as your sword,

But your core, your heart, the strength of your blade,

Must retain some give, some flex to be played,

Though the hammers and fires press at its matter,

Without this core the blade will shatter.