Show nothing

Don’t flinch

Don’t blink

Face blank

But not set to stone

No intake of breath

No outtake as spent as a sigh

Or “Oh” more breath than sound spoken long as a clerical dirge

Definitely do not let the scream escape

Stay upright

Spine straight

Do not pool into the floor

A cascade of tears

It’s not real

Can’t be real

I deny this

I refuse this

It is not real

Frame broken

Still the hou...