How Does It Feel To Be a Heart?

How Does It Feel To Be a Heart?

Once a young woman said to me,

“How does it feel to be a man?”

And I replied, “My dear, I am not so sure.”

Then she said, “Well, aren’t you a man?”

And this time I responded, “I view gender

as a beautiful animal that people often take

for a walk on a leash

and might enter into some odd contest

in hopes of winning a strange prize.”

My dear, a better question for Hafiz

would have been, “How does it feel to be a heart?”

For all I know is Love.

I find my heart infinite,

and everywhere.

           I thought this poem was fitting with the recent victory for Gay Marriage in my home state of New Jersey. I’ve always believed that gender is what we make of it and true love is far from categorical. The commitment to love each other is what makes our relationships real. The commitment to make two lives becomes one. The commitment to value the life of another as if it were your own, or at least to try. I enjoyed this post on the Huffington Post by Ann Voskamp, a NYTimes bestselling author. She said: “Romance isn't measured by how viral your proposal goes. Don't ever forget: the real romantics are the ones who let another heart bore a hole deep into theirs.” And it’s wise to remember that such a hole is infinite.