Many moons menopausal, Heart is like  
the car the Loyal Order of Lions
leaves out on the lake each winter, painted
garishly, blasted by blizzards, stung by
sleet but even keeled through solid gray days
‘til sun’s insidious persistency
undermines stability, and it falls
for any shiny break in Marchblown ice:
golden ground squirrel on the garden wall,
bronze-backed gardener near a sunlit street,
a silver haired woman’s moon glow toes;
whatever breaks bright, the dazzled Heart dives,
and bottom flounders ‘til with Lion’s breath,
Mind winches the chain and hauls it away.

Sandra Lindow lives on a hillside in Menomonie. Wisconsin, where she teaches, writes, and edits. Her book, Dancing the Tao: Le Guin and Moral Development (Cambridge Scholars, 2012) focuses on the development of moral maturity and was a finalist for the 2014 Mythopoeic Award for Scholarship in the Study of Myth and Fantasy. Her awards include two WWA Jade Ring Awards and the 1990 CWW Posner Award for best collection by a Wisconsin writer. She has published seven poetry collections. Her most recent book of poetry is Hedge Witch’s Upgrade.