my heart bleeds
but it doesn't hurt
it only hurts at two am
when no one can hear my cries

my heart soars
up into my throat
beating, pounding, against muscle
and flesh that reddens in the heat

my heart hurts
at two am
it doesn't cry like a baby in a crib
it cries like a lady rinsing at the sink

my heart sinks
when it has nowhere else to go
it knows no other direction
but down, south, down, south

my heart trembles
like a building shaking in the aftershocks
dust falling into the mouths
of shrieking corpses

a boy with seven hearts

they gave him seven hearts
the first for dreaming
the second for running
the third for crawling
the fourth for laughing
the fifth for crying
the sixth for loving
the seventh for fighting

in each heart waged a war
the sound of blowing horns not very far
in each heart grew a tree
taller than the depth of the sea

in one boy sang seven hearts
they sang a song that lasted til night
a song that took away all the fright
the fear that spun around like a kite

in two hands he grasped one heart and asked
“what do you do?”
it said “i fight for one important thing
and, boy, that thing is you.”

in one palm he held a small heart and whispered
“what can you do?”
the heart replied, “i may be small but my dreams are big
and that’s what makes me you.”

each heart was crafted differently
each one had a unique design
but together they were stronger
and together they could shine

the rain clothes me
saves me from tomorrow
rinses me from the sins of yesterday
keeps me cold in the tears of today

the rain pierces me
digs into my wounds
then leaves with the ghost of a typhoon
i regret calling it too soon

the rain sings to me
dances on the roof
from the windowsill it says to me,
“hello my old friend”

the rain wants me
to sleep in its embrace
but i don’t want to wake up
in a dry coffin

and i'm a sad heart
in a stout body
with a thirsty mind
longing for reprieve
my bones are weary

like crystals my teardrops
shatter into a million fractals
there is no space for wholeness
no room for one piece
i am a sad heart
in the shape of a shipwreck