your heart does not need to be torn; it just grows how it knows.
it's contracting
it's branching
it's intercalating

because it likes to hustle!
it's a very special muscle,
it's a mitochondrial tissue
with a workaholic issue.

Hey, don't let anyone hurt you
the way your first loves did.

strength does not come from malleability
it's noncompliance
it's resistance
it's defiance

you deserve better
You will obey,
but never learn.
You could do better

Hey, don't give anyone power
the way your governments did.

worth does not evolve from filth
it's reconstructed
it's degraded
it's consumed

like the vapor pressure pulling water into clouds,
your heart can absorb all it wants.
like the turgor pressure pulling life through a plant,
you'll be full enough to avoid wilting and desiccation.

Don't confuse sharp stabs of self loathing
With the heart's aching throb of emptiness.
Only one is flexion for glory, bending in hunger
The other is not love. It will snap you in half.