Bonsai heart

Forced to live in shallow soil,
fed just enough to maintain;
pruned and shaped and wired
into a twisted habit, yet
the bonsai heart flourishes.

The gardener waits with blade in hand,
and a face that shows nothing
but intent to shield the delicate bud
from any who would defame it.

In the garden shines a light
where sun bleeds through shade
and laves the insular kernel.

It dreams of the day when
roots stretch beyond constraints

and burrow in the sweetened earth.


© 2004 Melissa Songer