And now that you don’t have to be loved, You can be free. The bird in the back of your throat Claws itself out on wings, broken Like the plate Shattered on your kitchen tiles as you charge your sister. Your mother, hands outstretched, eyes widened with horror Stands an intercessor in the space between love and a hospital bed. You stand at the door on your way out. Your toe has a piece of a shattered plate in it. You take the piece out set love free. Inspired by Jericho Brown's As a human being from The Tradition