Soft

Sucking in my stomach

and tensing my shoulders

feels normal,

like just how people are,

prudent, even

And I could live, and have lived

that way

But you can’t see me when I hold my breath

So you ask me to let it out

And only in the exhale

do I feel the spot that doesn’t want to let go

The one I am protecting

And I see how protecting it

has only hurt

I thought I was soft

But there are places in me too tight for love to get in

And even after all this time

It surprises me that they, too, could open