Elastic Heart

Stretch

like a child playing with a rubber band,

who’s never felt

the snap of it gone too far.

Bend

like light through crystal,

or waves in a magnetic field—

just enough to press

the edge of physics.

Reach

through a portal

built by a mere mortal,

through smoke and mirrors.

Offering your hand—

and your whole life, too.

Peel

like a hard-boiled egg,

cracking and splintering,

delicate but sharp.

Lower your shield.

Expose your soft underbelly.

Reveal the golden, glimmering hope within.

And still—you are never done.

The layered acrobatics of being

never stop.

To blend, to smush, to contort

the very DNA that made you

into something that fits.

We do it,

like animals on the savannah:

through drought and downpour,

wildfires and freezing nights.

To make a home

in a new place

requires

a different kind of strength

An Elastic Heart

Or you may find yourself

brittle and dry

plucked to the bone

by vultures

circling nearby