how to guard this great
buoyant secret
swelling within my belly
threatening to burst
with every word i speak?
i’ve been silent for so long
it seems inhumane to swallow
bliss so engulfing
it feels like a shield
still i must contain myself
a little longer
fate is so easily tempted
and joy subject
to the threat of eclipse
i cannot risk having
this rug pulled out
from under me
so i curl back into
my billowing self
waiting for the tentative
to become absolute