{source}

My brother likes to say

that your sternum is the only thing

holding your chest together,

that if your sternum breaks

right down the middle

in a vertical line,

the tension of your ribs

will tear your chest apart.

I don’t know how true that is,

or the statistical probability of a perfect

clean break down your sternum,

what exactly must occur

to break such closed beating silence.

There are 24 ribs

in the human chest

and the sternum anchors twenty.

.05% of people have an extra one;

a mirage of security, one

more to keep you closed and clean.

In dreams my chest

is opened from the inside.

Not gently, with a key, but

torn apart instead

by internal pressure

and emptiness outside.

The universe tends towards balance,

my brother said.

Breath leaves with the wind

a scream–no, a laugh

and I am lying still on

the itchy grass–

love expands me

and suddenly I know

openness to everything.

I am not separate

from the universe:

I, too, tend towards balance.

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Katie Gutierrez

Katie Gutierrez is an introverted student, volunteer, thinker, writer, intern and traveler. She has an unquenchable thirst for social change that she hopes she never stops trying to sate, and she spends most nights trying to reconcile herself with the idea that people are both terrible and beautiful in all kinds of situations. She enjoys the ocean, stories, words, tiny versions of everyday objects, the depth of human experience, and long lists (obviously). As a full-time student, her occupations as a young adult mostly include getting deeply involved and occasionally lost in people and their ideas while trying to discover who she really is. She is currently a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico (but her heart belongs in Portugal). You can connect with Katie via Tumblr.

Latest posts by Katie Gutierrez (see all)

• A Closed Beating Silence. {poetry} - November 21, 2024