He shushed his heart
so many times
he forgot how to feel
he believed it was safest that way
then when he was very old
he decided to let his heart speak
only it didn’t
it was as silent as the thick pond
that appeared in the grass outside his house
after the rains let up
and the air smelled new and eager
which is where he stood
watching the toes of his boots
darkening with the wet of the pond
he planned to lay down
under that reassuring blanket of mud
but the trees around him
began to whisper
and he laughed
and the wind laughed with him
at how long he had believed
that love used words
that it could fit in the shell
of his chest
he told a perfect stranger
later that day
you think your heart is your own
but if you listen
it speaks in the tongue
of everything.