Vulnerable

The cost of exposing your belly,

Your neck,

And your chest,

Can be high if the one you open yourself up to

Carries anything

But peace.

To be vulnerable is to risk being wounded.

It is tempting to pull into a shell like a turtle,

And harden yourself like clay in the sun.

I asked myself why I don’t pull my arms in, tuck my knees,

And bow my head,

Like an infant in the womb,

Or a canon ball?

The peregrine feather on the dashboard of my truck whispered.

“You know why.

Who soars,

And who drops like

A rock?”