Read This

Required Reading. One of the poems in one of the collections I am working on in my dissertation (assuming the dissertation becomes something real and not another failed project, for if I collect anything at all it is failed projects and this one is starting to seem like it may be another piece for my collection) is “The Heart” by Souvankham Thammavongsa, from Found. This poem is particularly striking. I don’t know what to do with it yet, but it resonates with me. I’ve tried to replicate it here as best I can, but you should really pick up the book itself. It’s beautiful.

 

THE HEART,

 

the real

 

heart,

 

is ugly

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing

 

 

 

here

 

 

 

 

 

can break,

 

or be broken

 

 

 

 

And nothing

 

 

 

can come

 

 

 

 

 

from here

 

 

 

but blood

 

 

 

 

 

* Thammavongsa, Souvankham. “The Heart.” Found. Toronto: Pedlar Press, 2007. 16-17.