by Rhonda Bernstein
Writers' Block: A contribution from our AWA Writers' Group membersThis is the story of the saggy heart.
Chapter One
It started with pain, grief, where my heart should be. The bottom of this now
empty space, the pelvic floor.
Nothing leaving that place now. Though I wish I could start that all over again.
Womanly fertility is over.
So at least the floor seemed to hold the coal-like air from emptying. It is
something.
How this air stayed in my body I do not know.
Why didn't it exhale with what was left over from used oxygen?
The oxygen that kept the other organs alive.
Chapter Two
Something sank. My heart, I think.
Laid down with it.
How I wish I would burst.
Instead, this black space like some nasty super glue keeps skin on, organs in,
brain operating, thinking.
Tried to put a whole fresh meaty heart in and sit up
to no avail.
It slips from my thoughts like pizza dough, a little shiny, feels slick from a
touch of oil.
Two fists hold up the dough from underneath—not enough twirling momentum left
to keep it up high and in shape.
It sags off gradually disappearing hands—a sagging heart shape with uneven
holes that grow and stretch onto a stage. I watch it from my front row seat.
An experimental theater. Give myself permission to float above the star of this play,
gaze more closely, touch it lightly, and believe it is mine.
It is a scene I revisit. Own it. I'm given this part as long as I want
or is gifted me.
 | Rhonda Bernstein is a poet and short story writer. Most of the time, her stories capture the joy and mischief of primary age children. She describes herself as an impressionist poet. Rhonda was a trailing spouse to Phil. She lived in France, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore, and loved expat life. In 2024 Rhonda retired back to the U.S., where she looks forward to continuing her writing, traveling, and learning about different cultures in the U.S. and beyond. Rhonda is an AWA alumna member, and she continues to participate in the AWA Writer's Group. |
 | The AWA Writers’ Group meets the second and fourth Thursday of each month. For more information, send an email to
"If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it" Toni Morrison |
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