Steve Cawte

MY HEART SWELLS

My heart swells to twice the size it should,
having a heart that size, sounds like something good,
or at least it would,
had I no medical comprehension.
Of effraction rates and fluid retention.
Of arrhythmia and hyper tension.
Of a billion-pill popping morning start
to claw back some near normal function of the heart.
To make the day bearable.
To make my heart based medical fears, more sleeve-wearable.
To make the dreams just a little less terrible.

But my daughter draws a picture of her dad,
her face a beaming smile, a mirror of the one I formerly had.
With some super hero super vision, she looks inside,
and finishes her sketch with emboldened pride.
For she has all the facts a child would.
She knows her Daddy’s heart,	
grows to twice the size it should.

Steve Cawte is the Editor of impspired.com, an Actor, Performance Poet and Playwright. He’s a sometimes Teacher, occasional workshop leader and full-time lover of words. He lives in picturesque Lincolnshire, but in the concrete bit so that’s a shame.  

He is the former winner of the Our Times New Writer of the year, The Greenroom Spoken Word Award, the ‘Voice It’ performers prize and the county under 9’s egg and spoon invitational.

Steve also hosts the Word-Perfect radio show dedicated to all things ‘writery’ on Siren Radio. He also runs the impspired good causes fund helping to provide artistic opportunities to underprivileged young people around the world as well as a Trustee for NIDUS-UK, a mental health charity.  

Flights, Issue Four, April 2022