Dear Spent Gladiator: It's OK not to be OK

Dear Spent Gladiator,

You are a fighter.
With the spears of your words and the nets of your wit, I see you fighting.
I see the drive in your eyes
And your desire to wipe off the blood and stitch up your wounds and live to fight another day.
And you will fight another day.
And you will fight another day.
It may not be tomorrow or this week.
It may even take months.
But you'll keep showing up
And playing the game through the pain as best you can.
It's okay to be hurt.
To sit in the tunnels this round.

No matter what they tell you
You are strong.
You are brave.
Your fans, if they really care will stay.
Your loyal comrades who trained with you
will stay with you because they too know what it's like to be knocked down

For now, spent gladiator, your job is just to stay alive.
Keep living.
Be gentle with yourself.
Tend to your broken parts.
Allow yourself to be jealous while you watch your friends fight in the arena
Allow yourself to feel.
My dearest gladiator, it's OK not to talk to people or to parade in your armor.
It's OK not to tell people what happened if they didn't see.
It's OK to take a break.
It's OK not to be OK.

Note: This poem is based on the Mountain Goats' song Spent Gladiator 2.