Widening the Door

Does the heart have a narrow door?
Will it allow in just one more
of every beast and flower and bird
and every song it has ever heard?

Just one more child, just one more flower,
one more relinquishing of power
to that sane and sacred foolishness
of living by inclusiveness?

Does the heart have a supple, elastic latch
that makes it easy to dispatch
all pettiness and bigotry
and opens it to what makes us free?

. . .

You who can heal all wounds and hate
make my heart open, free, and great.

– by Carol Bialock, “Widening the Door,” Coral Castles (Fernwood: 2019), 87. Used with permission.