Phantom Love

There’s a little cavity where my heart should be
Tugging among the hollow reef
Not quite real, a phantom limb come to play
For ages it’s been this way

There are days when I feel a muted beat
A new heart stirring in place of an indomitable old
It sings of promises afresh
Of kindness and love that’s on the way

Yet at night, I hear the beat again
Meaner and more profuse, thumping away
It thumps at my insides, trashing about
A memory of old, foul play

I hear my heart of old, bitter and sewn
Not in my breast, in the walls, in the roof
Broken and bruised but not yet dead
Not dead, but dying still

Dying slow, in agony, a festered wound
It tugs the heartstrings of the feeble heart anew
In agony the little heart protests
Be brave, be still, it will go away

It comes back every night with vengeance anew
Oh, little heart, may you endure
With the break of dawn, it goes very still
The tiny warrior heart lives another day

For night how many, can this be
Alas, the new heart, it’s tired and sick
It’s laboured breathing only adds to the pain
Be still, be brave, death will take it away