5.12.2009

so much held in a heart in a lifetime.
so much held in a heart in a day, an hour, a moment.
we are utterly open with no one, in the end—
not mother and
father,
not wife or husband,
not
lover,
not
child,
not
friend.
we open windows to each but we live
alone
in the house of the heart.
perhaps we must.
perhaps we could not bear to be so naked,
for fear of a constantly harrowed heart.
when young we think there will come one person
who will savor and sustain us always;
when we are older we know this is the dream of a child,
that all hearts finally are bruised and scarred,
scored and torn,
repaired by time and will,
patched by force of character,
yet fragile and rickety forevermore,
no matter how ferocious the defense
and how many bricks you bring to the wall.
you can brick up your heart as stout and tight
and hard and cold and impregnable
as you possibly can
and down it comes in an instant,
felled by a woman's second glance,
a child's apple breath,
the shatter of glass in the road,
the words I have something to tell you,
a cat with a broken spine dragging itself into the forest to die,
the brush of your mother's papery ancient hand
in a thicket of your hair,
the memory of your
father's
voice early in the morning
echoing from the kitchen
where he is making pancakes for his children.

{from joyas voladoras}

8 comments:

Char said...

what a gorgeous selection. i love reading beautiful things that are so new to me.

Lisa said...

this is lovely, miss georgia. sorry i haven't been around much lately. i really relate to your post from yesterday!

but anyway. just wanted to let you know that i'm still here and that i enjoy your blogs very much. i promise to post more soon as well!

have a lovely day...

Haphazardkat said...

Very beautiful, painful words.
They create an ache inside.

GailO said...

Just needed to let you know that I use your photos for daily inspiration...I'm really loving them...Thank you for sharing this wonderful poem too...

~h~ said...

I needed this. Thank you for sharing. :)

Peter Tschirhart said...

The first time I read this, and again now, I have to stop and catch my breath after reading the last dozen lines...
great picture.
-p

Chris said...

So lovely. You have the prettiest things on here, G :)

Unknown said...

g this answers something for me.