Inside a Heartbeat
Inside A Heartbeat
by Pris Campbell
I shiver, naked under my cellophane raincoat,
walk in traffic, weave down city streets,
hope this wanton behavior will
flush out a sexy hero,
wherever he may be hiding.
A bum on the street corner
hands me a blanket and cardboard box,
never blinking an eye at puckered nipples,
never noticing we sit alone in the rain, or
that the silence surrounding us
is like the inside of a heartbeat.
Author’s Comment: Sometimes we all feel desperate enough to try anything to get what we feel we need. Maybe it’s not walking nude in a cellophane raincoat but the feeling is similar, nevertheless. The woman in this poem doesn’t find what she set out for, but rather a tramp in a cardboard box, an angel in disguise, perhaps, who offers her a warm place. A person who doesn’t take advantage of her desperation. Someone who gives her a chance to slip into the heartbeat of a wider kind of love.
Bio: Pris has been nominated three times for a Pushcart Prize. She has five poetry collections to her credit. A former Clinical Psychologist, she was sidelined by ME/CFS in 1990. She makes her home in the greater West Palm Beach , Florida , with her husband and three pets.
I ejoyed your poem, thank you for writing it. An unexpected angel in disguise.. I like that idea!
I also have ME/CFS and am still hoping to be a clinical psychologist one day.. if body allows!
Kitty x
kitty
November 3, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Pris, this really touched me, as did your author’s comment. Made me shiver too with gratitude to the Universe for unexpected rescues.
Barbara
November 3, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Kitty, thanks for your feedback. I hope you can follow your dream, too!
Pris Campbell
November 3, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Love your last two lines, Pris.
helenl
November 3, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Pris, many of your poems have those last two ‘killer lines’, and this poem is no exception – as helenl points out. You have the uncanny ability to produce poems which make us confront ourselves and our inner fears; this apparently simple poem turns out to be quite complex, requiring re-reading to extract the full meaning.
Geoff Sanderson
November 3, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Helen and Geoff,
Thank you so much for responding and your comments about the closing lines.
Pris Campbell
November 4, 2010 at 10:35 am
Barbara,
Your comment somehow sneaked in after I’d first responded and I just saw it. Thanks…and yes, isn’t it wonderful when what we need pops up in the most unexpected places??
Pris Campbell
November 4, 2010 at 10:37 am
Enjoyed your poem, Pris and really liked the extra commentary on this one
jessiecarty
November 4, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Pris, this is one of the most compact and telling poems I’ve read in a long time. Thanks for the amazing tenderness.
Maren Mitchell
November 5, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Jessie and Maren, thank you so much for taking the time to both read and comment.
Pris Campbell
November 5, 2010 at 10:23 pm