Original Poem: Animal Hearts

From time to time, I will be reviewing poetry, books and even submitting original work. I've been published in a few places, mainly, my work featured at madswirl. com. The link to my poet forum there:

http://www.madswirl.com/content/poetry/Rafael_Andrade_Garza.html

This is an original work and part of a chapbook called, "Heart Code", that I hope to promote here on this blog. Thanks for reading!


Animal Hearts


Heart codes
are desperate messages
left to decipher and distress
Often tracing our language
deep within our soul’s walls
like Ute Petroglyphs
Who carry our hearts
provincial boulders
with the highest reach to the Sun
Crimes against love
are heart thieves
Who try to replace
our history with pain
Our petroglyphs,
not long ago written on dirty diskettes
kisses now stored on cell phones
The way our red ochre lips trace a body
in the new digital age
I long for our animal hearts
to return with prayer inscriptions
carved into sandstone
"Look! Up in the sky!"
We conquered kingdoms
with a single poem
When we started
hunting-gathering
that great fire
When we were left with
charcoal black hearts
marking “X” to send help
and leaving our stories recorded
as we drifted closer and closer
to that grand mystery
Leaving black chalk clues
or a woven God’s eye
Back when our love was elemental
shadow against rock
one with Earth, fire, water and air.

 © Rafael Andrade Garza, 08-09-12

Ute Petroglyphs from Arches National Park, Utah, USA. Image by Michael Thompson © iStockphoto.com.