Tony said
to really graduate
you have to be broken
from the heart out
once, really smashed.

I think that’s fair
but what if
the heart, say, of
a friend
was breaking right
up until the end,
only he dodged?
Was he, that friend I know,
ever really there? Was she?
How many hearts will it be?
Do I count? No?
But mine breaks a little
every time too. A little more
And I’ll break through.
Not for a while -
it’s still hard to smile.