Heart’s Sweater in Blustery Weather

I fashioned a sweater with sleeves
That I’d wear my heart on, you see
Pinned in plain sight
Steady and bright
Pulsing like waves in a breeze

I stitched threads together quite tightly
That they’d hold my heart up mightily
Never to lapse
Or drop in mishaps
Like a mail suit-armored and knightly

Whistling, the wind came along
Singing its whimsical song
Pulled at my hem
Tickled my zen
My heart’s beating quickened along

I danced to the new, pretty rhythm
That weaved through my sweater’s lost schisms
Settling in
Provoking the din
That kept my threads locked in a prism

Then billowing off towards some coats
The wind swept away its sweet notes
And I’m back to square one
Of my heart’s old hum
Same as day one, yet somehow demote

more by A. M. LAINE

Photograph by Ryan McGuire