there is a brokenness 

out of which comes the unbroken

a shatteredness out of which 

blooms the unshatterable

there is a sorrow beyond all grief

that leads to joy and fragility

out of whose depths 

emerges strength

there is a hollow space 

too vast for words

through which we pass 

with each loss

out of whose darkness 

we are sanctioned into being

there is a cry deeper than all sound 

whose serrated edges 

cut the heart 

as we break open 

to the place inside 

which is unbreakable and whole

while learning to sing