WELCOME TO MY HEART!

Welcome to My Heart!

The revolving access door to my heart

Is far from being fully operational.

Rust has greedily staked a jealous claim

To the hinges of this subliminal portal.

Whenever I forcefully try to get it unstuck,

Rattling its doorknob, and kicking its panel,

It lets out distraught and heart-wrenching creaks

That prompt me to reach for a can of WD-40

And mercifully lubricate its arthritic joints.

This sorry state of affairs is hard to bear.

It is not what I signed for.

Should I procrastinate any longer

I may become the casualty

Of a long in the making heart attack.

I would rather be hit by a stroke of insight

That would enjoin me on the spot

To drive a state-of-the-art ventilation crack

In the self-erected shield of my claustrophobic heart.

They say that curiosity kills the cat.

Could it also unlock a padlocked door?

I may have to hire some muscle on steroid

To unceremoniously kick open

That recalcitrant much-coveted gateway.

I asked my angels to stand guard by the door

While I knock, and knock, and knock

Covering the peephole with my thumb

So as not to spoil the effect of surprise.

I will lay in wait for as long as it takes,

Wasting no time to plan a housewarming party.

I already traded the discouraging ‘No Trespassing’ sign

For an inviting brand-new doormat

That bluntly states, “Welcome to my heart!”

Anyas Spencer, Medford, Oregon, November 9,2019