Congratulations to February 2021 prize winner, Kyla Barker! Thank you for participating! Your work is valuable!

MY HEART BELONGS TO YOU By: Kyla Barker

Oh, how you have my heart.

Holding it delicately in your tiny hands,

you bring it to your ear,

and listen to its familiar heartbeat,

then your cherub like lips pucker up and you kiss it gently.

Oh, how you have my heart.

I so easily have given it to you,

feeling I do not need it anymore, trusting you to take care of it.

You cradle it and smile with happiness.

Oh, how you have my heart.

We are now connected like conjoined twins I need you to survive.

I wonder if you know your power and

how easily I would die without you.

Oh, how you have my heart.

My perfect angel

please be careful not to hurt it, or trade it in for someone else’s.

I want no other owner but you.

Oh, how you have my heart.

And when that day comes

and it no longer makes that familiar sound, I hope you give it back,

and bury it with my body.