palmate heart – a poem by Charles Ray Hastings Jr.

heart is hand

paled lines folding to meet either side

stemming creases lost

trailing into swirls of prints in the shade of your ribs

lines are stories

stems are loves

prints are the lonely time between

it’s all about where you start

where your eyes lead you

and how tenderness is your vessel or your basement

for every boring black bit you keep in your socks beneath your sole

metaphors aside

palmate hearts

either

clinch like fists

define themselves with shadows like a crescent moon

or hold onto everything till the sky becomes six feet of soil

and last thoughts rest on your patio

the mausoleum

point B to all point A’s

Charles Hastings was born 1986 in Scottsboro, AL. For the last seven years he’s been involved in the southern punk rock community. As a punk rock musician he’s written and recorded eight records, and performed in over 42 states. Last year he released a 165 page book of poetry entitled Our Gorgeous Hell Raiser through his label, TS Records.