Heartburn

 

Heartburn

 

Her car came 

to such a halt

that my heart 

tore through the walls 

of my rib cage

and ripped a hole 

straight through my chest

 

and just

hung 

there

 

skipping beats on my lap

like a gash on a 45,

half playing Smokey.

It’s a miracle

I’m still alive.

 

She ignored it and

 

continued to scream

in my direction,

with dilated pupils

“How could you even suggest that I am lying to you?!”

 

I stared at my beating heart,

hanging like the tear

from her right eye,

(just as sad

as the first time

they met mine;

my heart

and her eyes).

 

She drew

black chalky lines

from her pupils

to her chin

and painted her sclera

ruby red.

 

I sighed and

apologized for exposing

a hole in my chest

and hoped that

the evening

wasn’t ruined.