if only i could release that knot,

the one sitting creaky and long

in the middle of my chest.

oh, how deep i could then breathe!

i would gather it all up in a tidy

little ball—and just exhale, letting

it flow from my heart into open air

wide.

 

but even as i think this, i feel its

prickles sharpen as it, like the spine

of a sea urchin, digs in tighter still.

it will not be an easy thing, this

exhale of release.

 

so i draw the spines out of flesh

painful, one sting, sting, sting

at a time—but this is worth this,

to breathe—

 

at last it floats free, like tumbleweed

across the road in stiff winds, and i

breathe in deep

and breathe out release.

 

and then my heart began to sing,

“you are so much more than

that voice that whispers

harsh

‘inadequate.”

 

—whatever the knot is, it’s worth the effort to release.

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Phạm Chung 🇻🇳 on Unsplash