This poem portrays the inner turmoil and
collapse that arise when one is shaken by another’s
words—especially the words of poetry. When confronted with empathy and feeling
as though one’s hidden emotions or malice have been
exposed, a person may reject, attack, and resort to self-defense. Yet those
very words gradually corner the self and ultimately bring about a “breach of the heart.” Using language as a
mirror, the poem questions human nature and sharply depicts the collapse that
lies at the end of self-denial and hollow bravado.
“A Heart in Rupture”
To resist and deny.
To refuse and condemn.
Unable to endure, to rebel.
Shaken by poetic words.
Struggling, unable to accept them honestly.
The heart, seen through, recoils in
rejection.
Why reject the empathy thrust forward by
the poem?
Hidden feelings are dragged into the open.
Must one live clutching writhing malice
within?
An inescapable conflict gnaws at the soul.
With the poem as a mirror, one’s humanity is questioned.
Inner thoughts cry out in self-denial.
Words of self-defense further debase the
self.
Attacks turn back, making oneself the
target.
Gradually cornering oneself—until the heart
bursts.
Fierce attacks launched through spoken
words.
The shameful parts of life laid bare—until
rupture.
Violent defenses hurled in words spewed
out.
Bluster exposed—until rupture.
All virtue gone—collapse.