Hovering like a heavy cloud
Threatening with a silence so loud
The air of my system consumes
The clarity I had assumed

Boiling, bubbling,
Nearly bursting,
Aching, hurting,
Throbbing

Reaching for for something
Fingers close around… nothing
Feeling, gripping,
Drawing a knife,
A neat incision, aware as life

Plunge deep into the chest
Pull out the heart, beating yet
Just a moment, to hold it outside
And savor brief silence inside.

Written August 1999