bleeding hearts

At the cry of the first bird
They began to crucify Thee, O Swan!
Never shall lament cease because of that.
It was like the parting of day from night.
Ah, sore was the suff'ring borne
By the body of Mary's Son,
But sorer still to Him was the grief
Which for His sake
Came upon His Mother.


"The Crucifixion"
set by Samuel Barber
text from The Speckled Book, 12th century
translated by Howard Mumford Jones

A Dream
We looked out the bedroom window into the night sky. Sudden explosions of light appeared. We both thought they were beautiful; there were no words. The light bursts continued across the sky and drew nearer and nearer. We watched in awe until the black silhouettes of helicopters appeared. Then we were scared.

a useful and reassuring tautology:

you are on the way to where you are going.

<sup>Song of Songs Chapter 5


Bridegroom:
1</sup>"I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam 
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk 
Eat, friends;
Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers." 
Bride:
²"I was asleep but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
'Open to me, my sister, my darling,
My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is drenched with dew,
My locks with the damp of the night.' 
³"I have taken off my dress,
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet,
How can I dirty them again? 
⁴"My beloved extended his hand through the opening,
And my feelings were aroused for him. 
⁵"I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the bolt. 
⁶"I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and had gone!
My heart went out to him as he spoke 
I searched for him but I did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me. 
⁷"The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
They struck me and wounded me;
The guardsmen of the walls took away my shawl from me. 
⁸"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
As to what you will tell him:
For I am lovesick." 

spontaneous human combustion

by amanda allyn

you are so hot,

i fear you may spontaneously combust.

i cannot stop staring at you.

i would like to get to know you better,

but we mustn’t speak because then

you would like to get to know me better too,

and one thing would lead to another:

we would fall in love and spend countless hours together.

i would think about how hot you are

and one night when i am sleeping next to you

and you are holding me tightly

you will burst into flames.

i am a very sound sleeper so i would not wake up.

the next morning they would find piles of ashes

where our bodies once laid

and take pictures

and send them to the discovery channel.

we would be known as the “cinder couple,”

and our story would be featured on a

spontaneous human combustion program.

and that’s just not the way i want to make my mark on the world...

or die.