photo by usgs from unsplash
When I empty my heart
At the end of the day,
All too often I find
That it is full of stones.
Some are small and smooth—
A moment of impatience,
A missed opportunity to love.
Others are larger, harder to lift—
Boulders of indifference,
Streaked through with selfishness.
But the worst, the most insidious,
The lava that’s cooled
Into porous, igneous rock,
Choking all four chambers.
Racism, bias—
Clinging to the walls of my heart.
It won’t come out with shaking.
It requires strong light and a chisel,
Chipping continuously
Every day of my life.
Like this post? Subscribe to have new posts sent to you by email the same day they are posted.
Beautiful, timely words in a well chosen metaphor. Thank you.
Sounds to me as if your study of Russian literature made its mark. I can imagine this poem as one of Father Zosima’s homilies, and Alyosha taking it — to coin a phrase — to heart.
Thank you! You described many of our hearts, with more clarity and courage than most of us dare.
Thank you, your ability to put into words that paint a true picture and express such deep and so many times hidden feelings is a gift.