Some Data and a Little Insight
There’s no one here whose heart is still to break
– Roddy Lumsden after Po Chü-i
No-one’s heart in that room is waiting
to be broken for the first time and no-one
is standing here, among the quiet men,
whose long souls have begun to shrink
in a polite manner. Scars healing create
the same effect, by slow tightening
as the initial wound begins to dry.
In another place, to which reference
was made earlier, cardiographic studies
have shown how hearts not damaged
are so rare it is quite possible that they,
statistically speaking, may not exist at all.
Oliver Comins lives and works in West London. Recent work in South Bank Poetry, The Emma Press Anthology of Age, IS&T, Axon and London Grip. Two pamphlets published by Templar Poetry in 2015 Yes to Everything and Staying in Touch.