stretch marks

You didn't break my heart,

you stretched it

and these growing pains, they tend

to tenderize what's in the way.
A sweetness lies in the discomfort of strengthening

and lengthening this muscle
and I feel held

by the clouds that I admire,

the trees that give me cover from the rain,

the last sunrays exploding into colour.

I see myself embraced by everything that I think I lack

as if it never left but was only waiting right

outside the boundaries

of where I thought I wasn't allowed to walk.
You didn't break my heart, but goodness,

how it aches in its expansion

how my ancient wounds flicker as they observe that

this is different,

this time I'm staying,

this time I won't abandon my grace.

 

20-07-2025