beginning with the heart

A few nights ago I noticed

that my heart had eight chambers,

double, what I know to be true.

Another oddity was the stem in the center.

Initially it appeared to be an ordinary stem similar to an apple or pear,

     But it was bright orange.

In that dream of too many intersections,

Beginning with the heart it moved into a gathering.

You both were with me, among many

 scattered along crooked sidewalks enclosing the borough.

In a sudden moment I notice you were gone,

And then,

Not only do I feel the urgency as my own hoofbeats strike dirt,

I feel burning heat in my lungs, filling with breath

 that I can only imagine is mine.

All is unseen yet, with conviction I know the direction.

There you are.

You pull over in the white sedan

almost as though you were still here,

almost as though expecting me to round that corner

Not only do you recognize me,

in part human and part deer form,

you assure me that you really did not go too far.

All chambers of my heart begin to slow

As we lean against the car,

Just to take in the autumn sky.

N. L. Reynolds