who walks in with fists unclenched and eyes glazed over
who is wrapped in wire metal and barbed
who moves with fire water and air and is plowed over by earth

grounded by those years that came and went
and come back up broken glass and battery acid
tearing the stomach
eyes tearing from the stench

held onto in smallness
and smaller still
and still

what is a heart and how long are we here
what keeps us together like fish hooks in our stomachs
wobbly steps and years of watching
who were we to keep what was never ours