Our Great Heart
when we hear of those
who do not recognize the face they hate
as their own
then we must hold them
we must hold ourselves
we must hold each other
we must have a Great Heart
a heart greater than the fear
there are so many stories past telling
so much pain, so much bravery
the vivid colors of the now cannot retain them
they fade some are near peace
some are resigned some are afraid
stories that have been told
stored restored retold
untold unclear unremembered
I read of sailors awed by mushroom cloud
in a test, which sent old ships to the bottom
while new crew swabbed the decks
of surviving ships still afloat
the men chanting and cheerful, unaware
of the awful poisons leaching into them
who remembers these ships?
these men?
who remembers the lives of japanese
who burned or crumbled into dust
are there stories in the ash?
in the severed atoms?
who remembers the stories of children
who left early
children never born
only the Great Heart knows these stories.
only ours, not yours or mine, but Ours.
only ours is big enough for all these stories
the stories of old loves
how the self dissolved into the other
separation went away
who can remember now, clearly
what that was.
was it sharp, vivid, bright, ecstatic?
or soft and subtle
these colored stories fade, into pastels
past telling
like the colors of the sun
shining through the mushroom cloud
of stories ending
can our heart hold all this?
can our stories be given back
to those who have left
those we have killed
those who left us
those we have abandoned
man, creature, flora
planet, moon, star
each with their own shadings
each with their own shadows
can we pass the stories on
to those who come after us
even if what we remember
is but a wisp
a whisper
of what went before
all these stories in our heart
Our Great Heart
or, if not, we have no heart
Our Great Heart
Our Great Heart
or there is nothing
anymore
and never was
—John Sacelli—
- April 2024 – Issue - March 31, 2024
- April 2024 – Articles - March 31, 2024
- April 2024 - March 31, 2024