I Let It
I open my heart.
It’s bright.
Bright enough to catch me in the bathroom mirror at midnight,
bright as light, catching dust in the air.
bright enough to show the whole thing,
including the part I keep trying to edit out.
I feel it.
The pinch in the chest.
The heat behind the eyes.
Doubt lays out its favorite lines.
Fear unravels that same script it loves to perform.
I know that script.
I’ve played every role in it.
I got good at it, really.
I go quiet,
I go productive,
I go funny,
I turn my softness into something efficient,
something sealed tight,
I shrink my world down to “safe”
and safe turns into lonely…
till I’m sick and tired of this.
And I do something else.
I let my heart do what it does –
crack, clench, flutter like a stupid animal that still believes in touch.
Again and again,
I let it,
because I’m choosing alive.
I let it react,
I let it miss,
I let it weep in silence,
I let it want,
I let it feel stupidly hopeful
even when part of me rolls its eyes.
Because I’d rather be alive with a bruised chest
than “fine” in a locked room.
(2022, © Julia Delaney)
Be Alive 🌱
Love ❤️, Julia
Rhyme & Reason
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