The pain was a portal to a better self.
To purify the heart start with a whack
To crack the farce I’m in good health;
I’ve got no need to grow; I’ve got my own back.
When Fate breaks hearts and batters the ego
Then beloved fictions collapse in real time.
I writhe and ruminate and try to sow
The seeds of a future while still blind
With tears. Who would do this to herself? Why
Even ask? Changing life will find a way
To force us to grow and give up the lie
“My work is done.” So become a protégé
Of joy. And when you’re stung by awful strife
Grasp tighter to the true North Star of life.
-Allegra Jordan, 2019
Reconciliation poetry 