Cradle my Heart

Red Heart in Hands by George Hodan

Cradle my heart

In your calloused hands

And remember how it felt

When I first gave it to you:

Lighter...

Unscarred...

Whole.

Story of a Neglected Flower

Dead Rose and the Storm by George Hodan

Over the years 
her petals fell away 
in soft crimson drops 
on weathered hardwood. 
She wilted under his care, 
years of drought 
and angry heat 
leaving her parched, 
craving tender warmth 
and gentle rains. 
She faded, 
branches withering 
until little remained 
except a dormant dream 
rooted in hope 
that one day 
she might bloom again.

Shrapnel to the Heart

Cosma by sabine Sauermaul

my heart transformed,

now a magnet for his shrapnel, 

love, an unavoidable vortex, 

a dislocating kiss 

in the thundering wilds. 

I hang my emotions 

on the clothesline

to dry my wrenched tears,

fevered delirium 

embedded in each fiber, 

a mournful marathon 

through an auburn Tuesday night. 

he rendered me helpless, 

a phantom vapor 

chasing her siren, 

holding his howls 

close as remedy

before planting myself 

in a sheltered corner. 

a melancholy wind blows, 

swaying my grasses,  

erotic scents floating 

with stray powders 

from fairy wands.  

I float on his tides, 

a helpless captive 

to his churning waters,

the ebb and flow of his world 

determining the shape of mine. 

~~~  This poem was written for the prompt from Imaginary Garden with Real Toads asking us to draw inspiration from the words of a fellow poet and to write a surrealistic poem.  My inspiration came from the line “…sheltered in the corner of your shrapnel heart” from the poem “Box Shaped Heart” by Hannah Gosselin. I’m also linking this up for this week’s prompt over at Poetry Jam and the OctPoWriMo Day 25 prompt, which both asked us to write about love.