Cement up to the neck br & my head packed br with unsaid words. br A gullet full of pebbles, br a mouth br of cast concrete- br I am stuck br in a lovelessness so thick, br it seems my natural element. br My mouth closes br on stones. br br Hand frozen to my chin, br my back a question mark, br my heart soldered br to its arteries, br my feet planted br in grass that cannot grow, br The Thinker ponders br ten more years of this: br a woman br living the life br of a statue. br br Break free! br Melt the metal br in love's cauldron, br open doors, eyes, heart, br those frozen ventricles, br those stuck tongues, br those stuttering dependencies.