© By Matt Elmore The poet's poem was chosen among eight poems out of 24 entries in ILA Magazine's 'Heart Challenge' offered July 18 - 21st, 2023: "Your heart has just scheduled a meeting with you. What's on your heart's agenda that needs to be discussed." Poets were required to write a poem as if in deep conversation with their heart, and also required, to apply at least one of the vocabulary words (from a previous post), inserted into their poem


hello head...this is your heart
I know you are always so busy but listen up...
you're killing me!
Not like killing me as in you're so funny...haha
though I do like your grumpa imitation
no, you're killing me...

how you ask?
you never even listen to me
even when I jerked your arm
and poked you under your shoulder blade
you still tried to walk me off with a guffaw
but you can't walk off stupid...!

so I gotta tell you...
stop with the potato chips
and putting salt on your pizza
what are you thinking?!
geez !!!

why don't you try jumping rope sometime
or going for a nice walk instead?

also...you keep hooking up with losers
they look good and seem so nice
I love when I feel another heart beating
but now I finally realize
it's not trying to synchronize with my rhythm
It's actually knocking on this cage door
looking to break me like a weak penny jar
when I am foolish enough to let it in
and ring my bell with traumatic tintinnabulation

I'm telling you...you're killing me!
I know this is too much for you at once
so I will put it in terms you will understand...

if you don't cut it out with the heartbreak
the greasy food and no exercise
I am quitting this job
and getting much better employment
with much better winsome benefits
at the garage airing up tires...