It Is
In Your Bones, Poem 5
“The worst secrets are the ones you don’t know you’re keeping that settle in your bones and seep into those hard white spaces that are alive with growing and breaking.”
The inspiration for this poem…
The title In Your Bones comes from this poem. This is one of my many body poems, inspired by how our bodies are affected by both joy and trauma. Caroline Myss says, “Our biography becomes our biology”, which has always intrigued me and repeatedly found its way into my writing. What’s going on around us (biography) has a way of seeping inside eventually making its way into our bones and blood (biology). That is both frightening and comforting even if it could never be proven or directly traced. Just like our bodies know how to heal physically and involuntarily the minute we are cut or bruised, it makes sense that our psyche’s do the same for us. In spite of things being able to penetrate us deeply, I believe that we are always leaning toward healing which is why I’m such an advocate for tipping the scales toward more of words we need to say and hear! I could keep a secret, but there came a time when I no longer could without both my body and my mind rebelling.
Other Body Poems from In Your Bones: “Fear”, “Shame”, “Proof”
Writing/Meditation Prompts:
What are your secrets? Are they worth carrying? Are you asking anyone else to carry them?
Do you carry someone else’s secrets, and, if so, at what cost?
How is your body fairing with what you ask it to carry? Are there secrets you need you unload or expose?
Do you need to lay something down or risk the toll it will take if you don’t?
How does your body inspire you? How does it take care of you? What do you want to tell it??
Reread what poured out onto the page. Are there any secret thoughts not fully explained? Keep in mind that when you reread your writing you are sharing it with yourself, again.