When the heart is closed

This is kind of a companion poem to the previous poem, Gently. I guess one of the many pitfalls of the spiritual path is to want the heart to open too soon. Time and again, I have had to learn to be patient with myself in this regard and learn even to love my blockages. As Shinzen would say, love them to death :)
Anyways, here is the poem:

When the heart is closed

When the heart is closed
and won’t open,
don’t force it
like the shell of an oyster.
Don’t pry it open
like a lid that is tight.
Don’t kick it down
like a door that is stuck.
It is like a bud that is yet to bloom
or like a flower closed for the night
or a bird crouching behind a rock to heal
or a child that has burst its balloon.
Don’t beat a child
that is crying.