sometimes it’s okay to be whole

by Bonnie Shao

I let go

and the world didn’t stop

the day and night still rise

And the sky didn’t fall

blue to black to pink and back

the sky did not leave me behind

But for a moment

my heart stood still

you couldn’t feel it

For a moment

my heart rested in my chest

the tugging finally ceased

I loosened the bow

I shut the case

and time marched on

but for a moment

the ghost of a note in the air

my heart stood still

Bonnie Shao is a Chinese-American high schooler in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the author of The Xia Stories series, three contemporary realistic fiction novels published throughout her middle school years. In 2023, she was a Teen Writing Fellow at GrubStreet’s YAWP Summer Teen Writing Fellowship. Visit her at bonnieshaobooks.com or @bonnie.shao.books on Instagram.