Published in: poetry

how backbones get built, a poem

Author Eloiza

Published on: May 25, 2015

backbones get built
vertebrae by vertebrae
with every victory
with every heartache
with every triumph
with every shattering
with each awakening

they become sturdy
bearing the weight of new consciousness
embodying self-love
strengthened, emboldened

yet still flexible, yet still able
to make flowing and fluid movement
undulating with pulsing life
able to stand firm in the face of a challenge or adversity

backbones don’t magically appear because we wish them into being

backbones need nurturing and kindness and discipline and conviction and intention
and desire
to form and develop

they help us be stalwart and valiant
protecting the soft, vulnerable, tender inner parts

robust, hearty boundaries that
don’t cut us off from nourishment — they make sure we’re getting the right kind

the fortitude to love, not blindly, but with courage

by Eloiza Jorge