Maria Jastrzebska
The Man with No Heart
Of course he had a heart
once, everybody does.
But he hid his
inside a well
and forgot
to fetch it up again.
He says a wicked witch
cast a spell
and drowned his heart
which is what all men say
when they can’t find
their hearts.
They blame old women
who in turn blame
small frogs for never
turning into the princes
they were promised
such a long time ago.
When I was very young
I loved to lay my head
on his chest. I wasn’t afraid,
I’d clamber up all over him
and listen hard
to hear his heart.
It made a faint echoing sound
as if a long way down,
but I had excellent hearing then.
These days the man with no heart
behaves just like any man
without a heart.
He crushes doves and sparrows
in his hands, gets drunk.
He makes threats and boasts a lot.
I try to remember I am the one
who once heard his heart.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, Maria Jastrzebska grew up the UK. She is the author of Postcards from Poland and other correspondences(Working Press, 1991). As well as being widely published in magazines, her poems appear in various anthologies including The New British Poetry (Paladin), The Virago Book of Wicked Verse and Not for the Academy (Onlywomen Press).
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