The Heart Leaf

A single leaf, broad and shaped like a heart, is held up in front of a green glass bottle. The bottle is not straight; it bends at the waist, as if it had been carrying something for a long time. Above the leaf, a pale bud stands upright, still closed.

It is the heart that catches the eye first — too neat, almost, to be real, more like a drawing of a heart than a leaf. But look again at what holds it up. Nothing here is strong in the obvious way. The glass is soft-shouldered, a little crooked, leaning to one side. And yet the leaf does not sag. It is carried high, in front, where anyone can see it.

We tend to think that to hold our hearts up we must first be upright ourselves: finished, straight, sure. Most of the people who have shown us their hearts were not. They leaned, and held it up anyway. Behind them, something new was already waiting to open.

Perhaps a crooked stem can still hold a heart up.