on hearts everywhere

my friendly heart knows not
it's own violent crimson.
my other self and her sly tactics
outflank, manoeuvre and double bluff,
using the heart as a red herring.

"when heart-broken please take care
to stitch back together,
slowly and delicately,
matching the seams exactly.
don't allow the vitriol to grow
but believe in your own lovely ventricles,
which go on pumping day after day
on earth, as we create our heaven".

but this earth is full to bursting, beware.
one slip, one tripped, lost beat
and we're out of here. our fragility
never ceases to amaze me.

and how many are underfoot?
ancestors jesting at our
lovesick looks, romantic woes
and waning appetites.

this ebb and flow is often all we know of love.