You know,
I had my first one-second EKG
A few weeks ago, at the clinic, here, got sent
To a cardiac appointment, I guess
My T-waves are slow. Well, so am I.

Followed all the instructions carefully,
Read over the list of medications not to take.
Damn! I know I took it, my blood pressure med.
The heart-pounding soother pill… Um, what?
No stress test? Oh, well. We can do Echo?

You bet, loved echoes since I first
Heard their hearts! Used to love echoes…
Now I’ve seen mine. A heart. Pumping on
An ultra sound. Oh my god! It seemed…
Precious. Valves fluttering there, in shadows.

I felt
Affectionate towards my heart, EKG-ed,
With more detail. Chambers, walls, valves,
Magnificent! Pumping the well of blood
Through P, Q, R, S, echoed.

Swallowed myself; mindfully ate every
Image of my heart’s percussions, amazed.
Well, I guess we all would be, if we watched
Our heart every day, all day, lub-dub
Quicker than we thought our thoughts. In reality,

The heart is a dynamo. X,Y,Z.
Still love echoes, though they echo the past.
Now I’m seeing my future. Wonder if I Care.
Wish I could ultra sound my head, I mean
My mind, precious as it is. Might help.

And, so,
A heart pumps into a mind, a mind
Pumps back, without a pulse, so what.
Any more detail, and I might die! Wonder
If I would care, anymore, heart-designed.

Erin Elizabeth Kelly-Moen
Copyright 10/11/10