The beat of my heart changes in your presence

Can sound like slow steady thumps one moment
The rhythmic blinking of two piercing eyes

But the millisecond you approach me
The heart stuck on the invisible metronome within is flung wildly

I do not possess the strength to control it

I have enough leverage to confine it to the prison inside my chest

And after it's behind bars I feel it pounding against its cell
For freedom

The easy paced beat suddenly switches to the fast thumping of a dogs tail wagging with sheer delight
Hitting the floor repeatedly

I take a minute
Reflect on the difference and I have an epiphany
THIS is how my dog feels when I come home from work each day