The letters are a puzzle
The numbers hold but words
Behind them is a muscle
That doesn't yet work

A heartbeat not iambic
A thump that doesn't fit
A sound that's nonsyllabic
A rest that is adrift

A whisper in the corner
A rumor in the crowd
Spread by an informer
A man who speaks too loud

What he says means volumes
Every single word
But what he says I can't assume
Speaks more than what is heard

The genes hold legs and a body
Run by a song without rhythm
They walk into hospital lobbies
Where I find euphemisms

The legs carry me out
The genes don't matter
I have no doubts
My step doesn't stagger

Gone are the couldn'ts, shouldn'ts and shan'ts
A heart murmur can't tell me I can't