The Earth Beneath My Chest

By Mariyam Qurayshi

my heart is getting heavier than the earth,

I cannot bear the weight anymore

no.

yeah.

oh.

did you ever hear about the 

never broke a bone theory?

no.

they say if your bones stayed whole,

your soul would not.

The cracks had to go somewhere

into the chest,

into the silence 

behind your ribs,

where grief grows like a second set of lungs

where the pain of it tightening is the only thing making u feel alive.

so did you ever break a bone?

no.

oh.

then maybe that’s why

you break quietly every day,

why sorrow sits inside you,

with the patience of a lifetime.

why the stillness of tears,

with the anticipation of finally breaking a bone just so your soul can stop.

but here’s the secret,

bones that break can heal.

hearts that carry the earth?

they learn to let it go.

even if

just for a breath.

just for a moment.

just for a day.

just for a year.

just for a lifetime.

By Mariyam Qurayshi