The asymmetry of gifts

You will need:
A sashimi knife or other heavy blade that holds a fine edge.
A clean kitchen towel made of linen or other lint-free fabric.
Gold foil for wrapping.
Fresh heart, raw.

The heart has a distinctive texture; smooth and firm, though it becomes grainy if prepared with heat. Best to consume raw.

Pull the blade along the meat until you achieve symmetry. The shape of a candy heart will guide you. It may read you are sweet or love you.

Rinse the iron from the weeping heart with cool water. Use the towel to pat the flesh dry. Wrap it in gold foil, gently. Pretend you are swaddling a newborn, tender and pink.

Just before gifting, you may notice hope float into your now-empty chest.
It may feel like a sweaty summer night, roofless
with your face in the stars

I’m sorry I must tell you that the hope you feel will end
(because hope always ends).

Confronted by this immovable fact, take heart:

This impossible dark, the cavern
of rib and muscle
is where all gets born
anew.

*