Grief

It ricochets off the walls,
a push here, a pull there,
on the hunt
for a weakened seam.

I know
if it finds one
it will unfurl
and fill all the space

like an automatic lifeboat
expanding,
sucking in all the oxygen,
a balloon
of unwanted air.

Until fully bloated
it displaces everything
and crushes it
beneath.

So I clutch my fingers
over my belly,
and will it
to stay
inside.