Contractions

a contraction
of my heart
keeps me alive
a contraction of
a muscle keeps
me moving – going
forward
(or backward)
a contraction in a
mother’s womb
signals the time
of arrival
a contraction com-
bines two words
omitting letters
replacing them with
a squiggle
so, it seems
an addition or
a subtraction –
can be
a contraction
life and death
depends on
a contraction

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday word prompt this week is “contraction”