rose peoples
ELASTIGIRL’S HEART
I say I wish
I could stretch myself over
the cliff
on which you
teeter
I wish I could shield the view
of the gaping void from your gaze
I wish I were Elastigirl
From The Incredibles and Incredibles 2
I would stretch myself flat and taut
like the way firemen hold out the life net
when people jump
from skyscrapers
burning buildings
jump
into thin air
I would try not to tear at the impact
If I were Elastigirl,
I would hold you
like a parachute
inflate my torso
catch the wind
return you
safely to earth
I wonder –
what happens to her heart when she stretches herself
paper thin?
How can something so flat beat
contract expand
push blood to the end of her stretched-out limbs?
The heart is the only organ in the body incapable of healing itself
so when we say heartbroken
it is a word without hope
Because there is no way the heart can put itself back together
There will be no
cellular regeneration
So maybe we should say
I am lacerated
although this is violent and bloodied
you can at least take your lacerated self to the hospital
where a kindly nurse will put 23 stitches in you
and the skin will slowly knit itself back together
and you will replenish your blood
and let the sheen of the scar remind you of your ability to heal
I wonder –
how do your lungs expand
and take in air
when your chest has been flattened?
If I were Elastigirl
I could catch you
That would be super
Rose Peoples is from Te Awakairangi/Lower Hutt. She is a student at Victoria University and, having finished her law degree last year, decided that the logical next step was to embark upon a Masters in Literature. She is a bookseller at Good Books. Her work has previously appeared in Cordite, Mimicry and Starling.