Beating.

The heart grows stronger with every beating—

Is that perhaps why they call it a beat—

Like throwing punches,

a thump, a thud.

Violent, heavy

these words we use

To describe this fragile thing

we take for granted.

In sorrow, in love,

it expands, contracts.

In tears, it tears,

With heed, it heals

Like any muscle,

It soldiers on

without a choice.

The heart grows stronger with every beating—

Relentless in its resolve to overcome

Lest it be overcome—

By this dull ache

Radiating, pulsing,

Surfacing, ebbing, finally flowing,

Until something has you

Beat.

Take heart, reset.

Still here, it says.

Bleeding, throbbing,

Hobbling, mending.

The heart grew stronger from every

beating.