I wrote this one after realizing I was using the phrase “secret, black heart” often in my latest poems. It sounded cool, so why not, right?
Secret, Black Heart
What is my secret, black heart?
You know what it is
Don’t be foolish
You don’t know mine
To be sure
But you know your own
Who does not have that certain place
Where jealousy rears its ugly head
Where hate boils over
Where you laugh at pain
Where you imagine causing it
Where insanity is sweet
I know you feel it
Pulsing in your chest
You try to stop it
For it scares you
But, my friend, relax–
It will never go away
Don’t look to hard within it
You’ll see what you’re capable of
Guilt will eat you up from within
Burning through your soul
And, until the end
You’ll be afraid of yourself
Wow. Scary. Thank God for Jesus! His love covers sin. He shed His blood for us.
I hear the cynical voice comming out in my head as I read this. I love how the second stanza kind of makes you rush read, like it forces you to pick up the pace… and then it slows again at the end of the third. Very nice poem!