A Heart Too Large
Carol Mangis

 A heart too large, and uncontrolled—
He tried to kill it, silence it
Then finally to numb it
With liquid fire, hum and drone,
deathless recklessness.
His heart beat all the stronger, a hungry sound
Too loud to drown.

He decided to
Let his heart lead, its imposing size
Crashing through tangled weed and thorn;
The large sound it made,
a drum to silence the world.
When he fell, at last, too weary,

The heart he thought so pitiless
carried him.

At last, desperate, he fed his heart.
With deep and shuddering sighs
The silken scent of jasmine
A horn, a flute, a clarinet
The zest of lemons, calmness of feathers.

Appeased at last, it allowed him to join in its rhythm.
On a sunny porch, in a twilight spring, they drank tea
He and his heart, no longer a burden or a beast.
Now a pounding wave, a cat’s purr
The sound of an infant breathing.