You can take my heart
You can take my heart and put it in a box
You can take my heart and put it in a box and lock it in a cage
But my heart will not be there
When you wake in the morning
The bars will be cut open and the box will be elsewhere
I will take nothing else
Not your chalices or candlesticks
I have no use for ornament, no need for burnished gold
I am gone to the old place
To the cave above the lake
I have pared back my ribs to make a new mansion
Lent has come to remind us
Of the need for human sacrifice
For too long, you have made a fool of my heart
I have taken back my heart
I have taken back my harm
You must fill up all your cabinets with other magic charms.
© Helena Nolan
Dublin patron saint's heart stolen in cathedral raid
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Helena's work has appeared in anthologies and literary magazines including; The Stinging Fly, The Moth, and the Spoken Ink audio website. She is the 2011 winner of the Patrick Kavanagh Award.
