~Deana J. Tavares 

Each day challenges us

Stokes our fires

Questions our reserves

Depletes

Replenishes 

Then depletes 

Once again

We arrive 

Within this place 

Differently 

Every hour

Of every day 

Life challenges 

Our bandwidth 

Daily

How much grief 

Can we hold

Until we detach 

From our bodies 

To create more space

Between us 

And that which is unbearable

How much love

Can we contain 

Until open hearts overflow

And spill out

Onto everyone 

And everything in sight

Its all so big

All of the time

We are expanding 

And contracting constantly

Hearts swell into chest cavities

Filling nooks 

Batter poured into 

A human mold

In which it can bend 

Fold 

Then in one instant

Shriveling 

Dried up grief

On a vine 

With green tendrils 

Still reaching out 

To grab onto any life

That persists

©️ 2023