The heart

The heart wants what the heart wants,
The fluttering and flashing,
The choking and reviving.
It wants the open lipped stare,
The warm, rough hands,
On cold marble,
Chiselling and binding,
Colouring and demanding
The stitched eyebrow,
The sweat and blood,
It wants to devour,
It wants to destroy
Reckless and elusive,
Making ties, breaking ties
The thrust, the pull,
The spin, the twirl,
These shifting sands...

The heart festers many wounds,
It wants to heal, it wants to grow,
It wants to look beyond itself
But sometimes it's a demon,
A giant that wants to conquer new lands
Burst out of its confines,
It travels and flows,
Through many minds,
Till it finds a temporary home
There it stays, day and night,
An uninvited guest,
Clouding thoughts, consuming,
Always wanting more
It doesn't care whose house this is,
Whether it's small or old
It shakes and boulders
Confuses and bewilders
Till it's exhausted to the bone
Then it goes back,
A home that it doesn't like any more
A stranger, a lover,  a friend,
All welcome, in these shifting sands...