Once, I knew of a heart that could no longer be contained

and thus climbed out of its skin to sit on the shouldered peak of love

Fragile, the heart had always been, so it took great care not to fall and break

Delighted with this new spot, it basked in the warmth of a blinding light

which burned a bit, but usually was tolerable

As time went on, cracks began to develop where it had been burned repeatedly

causing the heart’s surface to harden

Though this was an undesirable state, the heart withstood the pain

in order to stay on top of love

Sometimes the heart questioned whether it was worth the pain of all these scars

but resolved with itself that it most assuredly was

While pondering these thoughts, the light of love suddenly went away

In the darkness the heart tripped, stumbled, and began a fall that seemed endless

When finally it hit bottom, the heart was broken and could not move

It remained stuck in that place and alone, for a very long time

Finally, after a long healing process, the heart slowly picked up its broken pieces

glueing them together one by one, until it felt whole again

With this reinforcement, and renewed strength, it began

the long, trepidatious climb to the top of love once again

But this time, the ever-cautious heart wore a harness

and insisted that love throw out a safety net

for Thursday Poets Rally