I want my heart
to be a place
where folks who have endured
more than they should have
feel safe.

I want my heart
to kneel in homage
to the woman in recovery
who is just now, only now,
finding her true voice.

I want my heart
to listen, to hold space,
to be shelter, chapel,
domestic altar, roadside shrine
with icon and votive candle.

I want my heart
to be a poem
that cheers the hearts
of the spent, the exhausted,
the ones who have had it up to here.

I want my heart
to be Maundy Thursday,
to be a user-friendly Jesus
pouring the grace of water
over tired feet.