She stares long into folds of red 
draperies, the low ceilings 

	of busy chambers, listens 
to the oily gurgle and thump, 

	thorough as a spy. 
A year’s passed since they inspected 

	this tight-fisted home, its slick 
sonorous walls. After years of constant 

	checking, cutting, sewing, shocking, 
my heart has tried to settle. 

	But I can’t seem to keep it to myself. 
Most hearts go a lifetime, keeping private 

	schedules, love-struck and fear-smacked 
secrets. But mine’s been opened 

	by those who pry, snoop 
in drawers, shuffle the mail, 

stop me, 
				start me. 

Jane Edna Mohler

is a Bucks County Poet Laureate Emerita (Pennsylvania), 2016 Winner of Main Street Voices, and second-place winner in the 2023 Crossroads Contest. Latest publications include Gargoyle, One Art, River Heron Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Verse-Virtual. Her collection, Broken Umbrellas, was published by Kelsay Books in 2019. Her work has been nominated multiple times for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Jane is Poetry Editor of Schuylkill Valley Journal.

Author’s website: https://www.janeednamohler.com/