I used to think that
My heart
Was strength
Those muscled walls pump life
Through my veins and arteries
Without help or direction
An Involuntary act of nature
Like a whirlwind
That I could neither capture nor hold
My heart roams free
Runs deep
Beats from pure passion
Loves hard
Expands and captures
Envelopes you
Breeds hope
What you lack
It provides with its over abundance
I assumed
I was created to give and share
What else could God have had in mind
Putting such a heart inside this small shell

With you
I have learned
My heart
Is not indestructible
A look or a word
Can cause palpitations
The thought of being unwanted
Damages pathways
That having love run deeply
Through me
Is not enough
That pouring it like warm oil
Over your body
To seep in
To sooth you
Taking my time to knead each muscle
Fill each cracked crevice
Till what your heart needs
Pumps steadily on its own
Only results in a loss
Of my life's natural resources
I am not an endless supply
A viable sacrifice
I cannot animate a heart that is not there
With the pure fierceness of my own desires
A heart can shrivel and die
Not bounce back like rubber
Or simply function misshapen
That is why I must take
My heart
Now
What is left of it
And leave while I can
Hide it away from you
Let it break
Leak a little if it must
And pray that
My heart
Though now weak
Survives