Muse to a Mangled Heart
Posted by David Warner | Filed under Poetry, Print
let me live
in the space between your lips
whisper courage
to the I-love-you’s
that sit
disgruntled on your teeth
waiting to be ground into dust
and choked back down
like pride and protest
strip them of all the lil things
that weigh them down
so they float off your tongue
like fresh breath
and catch the wind like wings
with feathers fixed to each other
with what holds widows to their memories
make me gatekeeper to your eyelids
cry me a moat to drown ugly, scowling faces in
and build me a bridge for her smile to cross
lend me a butterfly
or let me toy boat float back through your dreams
whichever gets me to her heart faster
mangled-heart warrior
let me lead you into battle
let me rephrase your fingertips
so they play her hips
like a melting saxophone
with desperate love and
a soul-deep sense of urgency
if your heart is
too worn
too damaged
too proud
let me
