By Gala
Date: 8 January 2001

The Heart I Would Hold

I have been trusted with this:
a heart that beats a soft tattoo,
warm in my hands
and utterly without fear,
ready to accept
that I will not blunder
by action or inattention
and cause breakage beyond repair.
And lord---
this heart sings to me
every love song you ever heard,
blues jazz bee bop
classical ragtime pop
the smooth of Coltrane
the sass of Waller
country folk and maybe hip hop
this heart is more than percussion
and he laid it wide open for me,
asked me to take it
and do with it what I would.
Well it's too precious to leave lying around,
so i'll just hold it warm and near,
and listen to the music
it makes just for me,
and pray that I will be
the proper choice
for the heart that I would hold.

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