‘Open Heart Surgery’

“I had open heart surgery on the 7th November.
In a theatre, they opened my heart
And they fixed it. Yes, they fixed it.
Then they closed it:
And they stitched me up again.

But something happened.
I became sad, angry, melancholic, reflective, child-like and ancient - a whirlwind of the human experience.
My heart was opened and it decided to unleash all these things without my consent.

But now my heart is renewed;
Like a plot of earth when it has been rotovated for planting.
I seek the new, the unexplored, the unimaginable.

My heart was opened on an operating table
And now 2 months later,
I finally give it permission to stay open: to stay curious; to accept all that comes my way.
I want to march to the beat of my own heart”.

….. Jean McDonald. (Written for poetry circle in the People’s Park, Bray, January 1st, 2023)