Sixth Heart

The Fates created a heart,
It was fleshy and weak,
soft like velvet and red like blood.

They handed it to someone who didn't understand,
Who dropped it and crushed it,
With a single step when he ran.

The fates wept from pain,
But didn't want to quit,
So they created a new heart.
Believing they would make it right.

The new heart was brittle,
With an outer hardened shell,
But a rough setting cracked it open,
Splitting it apart to let the insides drip and spoil.

The third heart was like glass,
Shining and glittering in the light,
It was taken and thrown,
The wall shattering it's beauty,
The shards splitting, and cracking, and screaming.

The fourth was thick,
Fleshy but strong,
It beat with determination,
Continuing, beckoning, but wrong.
The people took their needles,
Jamming into the thickened skin,
They tore it to shreds,
Each bit by tiny bit.

So the fates hid their final piece,
Behind walls of granite and stone,
They guarded it with beasts,
With chains and locks,
Hoping no one would enter,
And tear out their heart.

But one brave soul,
He mounted the walls,
He fought off the beasts,
And unlocked the cages and chains,
When he finally reached the heart,
It was beating determinedly,
He picked it up and cradled it,
Careful to be gentle,
Reluctant to see it freeze.

But no man is perfect,
No one without fault,
And he squeezed that poor heart,
Throbbing its muscle,
Interrupting it's strong beat.

And the Fates mourned,
Wondering what to do,
All their hearts had been ruined,
Broken, slashed and killed.
Was there no good here?
Was there no reason to continue?
What was the point when all their work was battered and betrayed?

Then someone came to them,
And opened their hand,
The sixth and final heart,
Its beauty defied all men,
It was light as the air,
Strong as the mountains, wind and sky.

“It cannot be destroyed,” he promised,
as he handed the heart to them,
“Just let it fly, and let it float, and let it touch everyone here,
There is nothing that can harm it,
No weapon that will rip it,
But it will travel to all those people,
Who need it but won't take it.
This is the sixth heart,
And it belongs to all who behold it.”