This is a snippet of an email I sent to a female acquaintance and quite possibly a friend:
__________________________________
Initially, I found your openness to be a breath of fresh air; I was
literally smiling after reading your first letter. I've often told my
sister that the strength of a women isn't so much in how well she can
prove her forcefulness, it's in how soft she can make her voice; just
like a gentle tongue that turns away wrath (Prov. 15:1), or one that can
break a bone (Prov. 25:15). "It's finesse, not force," I'd admonish.
Anyway...
So
I was beside myself when you took it all back with the second letter.
You were right there on the cusp of a miraculous breakthrough and
then...you pulled back. Gooossh! It reminded me of a line in a Duran
Duran song from the 90's:
Passion or coincidence once prompted
you to say, pride will tear us both apart.
It's a profound line, it's
also true for black men and women. By the way, it's not weakness [for you] to
admit tears – that actually takes quite a bit of strength. On the
other hand, it's easier to simply give generic answers, so full of
bravado and independence - you know, BUSINESS answers! I believe the
corporateer in you was trying to reassert itself.
