How To Hold Your Bones
Here is how to hold
your bones,
how not to leave the skin
you live in
how not to forsake the flesh
that fails
how not to scorn the cells
that kill.
Here is how to dig yourself out
from deepest, darkest grounds and graves:
You, the caged bird that you are,
will sing and sing and sing and sing.
A song, a knowing sound, that
calls your heart to hope.
You are not dead, yet.
Breath still beckons,
heart still beats.
Your feeble frame may give way
to pain, to pills, to cobblestone paths
too hard to stand upon.
Your hands, cold as they are,
will cup the curve of your body.
And you will hold, as He holds—
in hope of glory—
the bruised, beloved bones of your body.
Copyright © 2022 Rachel Marie Kang.
Rachel Marie Kang is a New York native, born and raised just outside New York City. She is a graduate of Nyack College (New York) with a degree in English with Creative Writing and Bible. She is founder of The Fallow House and author of Let There Be Art: The Pleasure and Purpose of Unleashing the Creativity within You. Rachel’s writing has been featured in Christianity Today, Proverbs 31 Ministries, and (in)courage. She lives and writes in North Carolina with her husband and two children. Connect with her at rachelmariekang.com and on Instagram at @rachelmariekang.
Photo by Jenna Norman on Unsplash.