Cover art by John Borruso

In the thick of things, the heart:
the heaving source
not of feeling, but of blood.
The hot and heavy mud pumper,
thoughtlessly driving deeper
into the concrete state
of needy meat.

Forget about the glory;
skip the soaring hopeful wonder;
what you feel is pressure,
the mute and urgent humiliation
of cells demanding double
their meager measure.