hearts are meant to be hung inside out

“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.”
-Charles Dickens



hearts are meant to be hung inside out, dried
out on the clothes line, with a warm august wind
pliability flourishes, by not being anything divisive

still the four chambers chug along blood
like it is going out of style; the opening
and closing of the gates between rooms

conveying fluidity, forever pumping prayers:
ventricles, veering towards the heart
arterials, ascribing to rush away
from heart's grand central station

all while conga beat
delivers dance steps-
even a murmur offers a mambo,
a skip finds a lou

to those whose romance
is on the rocky shores of blocking
arteries, as the bay of funday

can be seen for its beauty,
or just remembered,  for having
the highest tide


Kate Lamberg
11/18/11