one day your heart will have enough

and lie down by the side of the road

feeling the wind caress its damp face

yes your heart has a face

it is crooked and secretive, tucked away

in a meaty fold like something delicious

some wonderful lewdness

your heart will sink into the reeds

and a stranger on a dark horse will ride by

abrim with silvery accoutrements

jingling and flashing from under their cloak

maybe a sword in their orbit, maybe

a bird or the idea of one nearby

the stranger will place their fingers

in your heart’s mouth until it shudders

like an engine and goes blue-black

your heart will jostle in a sack

with others just like it, hitched

to the stranger’s saddle, and the world

will continue its fascinating work

ribbons in the trees

towers in the distance