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Map of the Human Heart

Look to your heart, up there on the stage,
Dissected and open, caught in a cage,
The World and its Dreams are reflected within –
All Mysteries and Moods live under the skin.

Take a walk in its mazes, compass in hand,
Study the skyline, the soil and the sand,
Flowers and knives will bloom where you tread
And the future looks light, though your feet are like lead.

Find your way to the centre, admire the view,
Take out your notebook, record what is true –

‘It’s joyful and pointless, forever and fleeting,
And all possibilities exist at this meeting
Of Mind and of Mercy
Of Passion and Pain,
And nothing is certain til the heart beats again.’

And happy you are, to grasp and to turn
This nonsense of Love into words you can learn,
But your beautiful Map of the Human Heart
Will not help you as everything falls apart.

As a million kisses, and a million tears,
Flood your eyes and deafen your ears,
Caress your lips and fill up your nose –
For no-one can live where the Darkness flows.
The current is strong and you are too weak,
While looking for answers you find that you seek
To live in a dream, up there on the stage
Dissected and open and caught in a cage…

So look to your heart, but do not look back,
For you are deep in it – and soon it will crack,
And the lovers and longings and lifetimes inside
Will leak into nothing and your heart will have died.

For the place that you seek can only be found
The moment you stop, and hear the true sound
Of blood in your veins, of stars in your hair
And the smile of a friend who has always been there.

Return to the Map of the Human Heart gallery