That which is still

By Siena Garman

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exudes a forceful sort of tenderness

and I know soft-tough is all the rage right now but I mean it

I let myself go still when I need to

I call stillness back to me when I need to, always

never still

silence is a myth, they proved that with science

there is always noise

science with its precision

with its shaking hands holding beakers

uncertain, unsteady

spilling over with the life force inside

with the blood, nerves, breath

we can’t still

our blood, nerves, breath

and by the time we can, we don’t want to

we beg for the uncertain, unsteady pulse to remain

for science, they divide the cells of life’s beginnings

with a baby’s eyelash

and when the innocence of newborn

pierces the ambivalence of unborn

the scientist prays her hand won’t shake

and there it is again

softness and

stillness and

strength