mystical visions and cosmic vibrations

The Heart Under Your Heart
by Craig Arnold

The heart under your heart

is not the one you share
so readily
so full of pleasantry
& tenderness

it is a single blackberry
at the heart of a bramble
or else some larger fruit
heavy
the size of a fist

it is full of things
you have never shared with me
broken engagements
bruises
& baking dishes

the scars on top of scars
of sixteen thousand pinpricks
the melody you want so much to carry
& always fear
black fear

or so I imagine
you have never shown me
& how could I expect you to
I also have a heart beneath my heart
perhaps you have seen
or guessed

it is a beach at night
where the waves lap & the wind hisses
over a bank of thin
translucent orange & yellow jingle shells

on the far side of the harbor
the lighthouse beacon
shivers across the black water
& someone stands there
waiting