The Heart That Goes On

we wished for a coherent life

either that or a castle of spun glass:

very little coheres

we imagine it makes a narrative

there are only brief passages

illumined in Heavenly light

simpletons at the Fair

a cow exchanged for  the magic beans

an apple green dress in the Spring

the rest is tedium or war

or anguish or mopping up the floor

after history's lunatics tramp in

yet there are flowers 

there are larks

there is the glissando of harps

an impulse toward Song:

there is 

the Ark of the Covenant

the heart that goes on

after the Flood.

mary angela douglas 4 january 2022