Take this squishy heart

Squeeze it, just so

Feel its rubbery strength

Its warmth and softness

Turn it over in your hands

Can you see the purplish bruises?

The scarred and gnarled tissue?

That’s where you left it for someone new

This is where you said it was nothing special

Here’s where you wounded it with selfish words

Now, turn it over again

Feel it quiver. Its strong thumping. The heat it carries

It has a life of its own and continues to beat

That cadence is untouchable, infallible

Now, take this squishy heart

Place it back in its locked box

And just leave it be

Now, throw away the key

– J.B.

Poetry and things