On the Invisibility of the Human Heart
As with cement sealing stone to stone
And glue stuck between child fingers,
My soul seals the heart, gunk between the flesh,
Hidden with the veneer of love and blood.
The clock ticks down towards its full rotation.
Time confronts my hunt, imposing itself upon
My search within a body laden with emptiness.
Frantically, I claw till skin gives way to flesh.
Ramified, my blood vessels stretch towards heaven,
Reaching, now empty, towards Passover wine.
My life, my blood has stopped flowing.
The remnants of a heart now burst.
Only absence remains. After all, what becomes
Of man when the beating of his chest ceases?
My mind turns towards heaven, though it sits as naught
But a destination. The far off country, fantastical.
Please! Listen for the beating!
Please! Please! Confirm that I still, without blood,
My heart stopped, am alive! That I am still human!
I slam my fist in recreation of my thumping heart.
How can I stand amongst you while my heart is still?
Hope flees me. Still bound to my soul I remain.
My life continues its stride, save for the thumping.
Silently traversing in a soul-jammed husk.
Yearning refuses to enter the still-set chamber.
Yelling bounces off the cavernous chamber.
Help. Help. I can’t hear the heartbeat.
Help. Help. I can’t seem to care.
--Kyce Sheppard, 4/12/2022
Theme : Self