a thousand untold stories [poem]

there are a thousand untold stories in my chest
pulsing with every breath
like they might escape up my esophagus into reality
but they’re stuck
trapped behind scabbed over hurts
that have only now started to heal
I feel the words in my blood
every heartbeat a promise that my stories aren’t dead
they’re just waiting for the next big breath
the exquisite exhale of release
of letting go