Heart

Oh heart, you open 

Hesitantly, shyly—

Like mice teeth nibbling on bread crumbs;

The gaps between their breaths 

Are the spaces between galaxies 

Webbed together by a starry hand’s shadow

From outside of existence, gazing in—

Oh heart, my friend—

Lend your sparkles to this 

Suburban monotony, straight-spine mailbox life.

I saw a couple fixing their mailbox—

Someone must’ve knocked it over. 

I considered asking if they needed help,

But drove home, exhausted from work.

Heart, why didn’t I open you then,

A little wider, gentler—

cherry blossom fallen on Vine Street kind of warmth?

But it’s November, I get it,

You want to recede, bleed back within yourself

Like a coiled hose frozen in the snow.

Who can blame me for loving the world in timid ways?

Each breath’s a blossom fallen on a cold road,

Oh heart.

Why can’t you stand that sacred marriage 

Of opposites? 

The poets wrote songs about you, heart—

Why are you so tight?

Loosen, the world is a beautiful mess 

You must clean every day 

In your own way.

So what do you say we open?

Honey-tinged light, oh heart—

Oh mighty, fallible heart