Volume 11, 2011

The Errant Heart

David C. Manfredi

chasing after palpitations
from scars within a weary chest
and smoke filled breaths
plucking vascular strings
rigid in their dissonance
hardened by reckless disregard

we snake a wire into its chamber
override its rebellious nature
quell the insurgent muscle
keep the uneasy peace
a device placed under the skin

senses its every peccadillo
commands obedience to its settings
jolting it back to reality
surveillance for flawed hearts . . .

all the same filled with longing
coping with sorrow
all in good rhythm
all in good perfusion

* This is the correct version of Dr. Manfredi's poem. Through a printing error, a few early copies of The Muse did not have this version. We regret the error.

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