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
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
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2 comments:
I absolutely loved this poem... and somehow I'd never heard of Craig Arnold. I looked him up, and now I'm so intrigued... Thanks for sharing this.
mmmm, that's a good one, Steve.
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