better/my heart
better
my face is your face
take it in your hands
better
take it with your eyes
take my face in your hands
while you can
hold my face in your eyes
forever
while you can
blink and think and carry on
forever
i will live and laugh in your eyes
blink and think and carry on
have as much fun as you can
i will live and laugh in your eyes
‘cause i am a funny man
have as much fun as you can
better
‘cause i’m a funny man
and that’s my face
my heart
and my heart
you have my heart
as strong as water
pounding stone
you have my heart
in your small hand
pounding stone
but soft to you
in your small hand
you’ll keep my heart
soft enough
to squeeze down small
you’ll keep my heart
where it always was
squeeze it down small
into your days
where it always was
as strong as water
you’ll have your own days
and my heart
Better my heart. It sounds like its own prayer. Better my heart. What I am asking for with my repeated return to the repetitive form. Better my heart. The repeating part of me, may this heart sound towards something more and better than I know. This is what loving you does. It betters my heart. Because better is a verb. It does something. This picture of sheer joy at Dunn’s River Falls with my dad and all his teeth and my (gorgeous!!!!) grandmother does my heart good. Does teach me something about what this heart is for and where it’s heading. We do put our faces, our energy, our hearts into the tiniest of hands. Our infinity into these small lifetimes. And the “better” in the title was not originally a verb. It was the redundant reflexive command form. The you is understood. As in when you volunteer to something you have already been assigned to do. And the one who knows they already assigned you to do it says “you better.” Also understood is the “or else” after the statement. “Better” stands between you and the consequences of acting like you don’t know what you are here to do. Who you are here to be. Who am I here to be? Better. Your heart.
P.S. My every day writing practice shapes my days into vessels for generations of love. If you want support with your own daily creative practice, I’d love to be part of your journey. This is the Stardust and Salt Daily Creative Practice Intensive.