Poetry from Daryl Sznyter

Photo: Alexandru Acea

first date

i left my heart in my car          my heart was a car                      my car was exhausted
my heart was exhaust            my heart was a pipe bomb

i wore sweatpants that day     because my heart was dirty
my heart was cotton               my cotton stank of old perfume
my heart was past its prime   my heart was ugly
……………………………….  .but my heart was also hungry    so she decided to emerge
……………………………….  .but the restaurant was closed

……………………………………………………………………….my heart was
starving
my heart was a third-world country
……………………………….  .my third-world country was a starving child
…………my heart was a starving child
you fed my starving child        you cooked for my starving child

……………………………….  .& my heart grew greedy
my heart grew rapidly
……………………………………………………………………….my heart grew wide
……………………………….  .& ready to be split
……………………………….  .by your tongue
……………………………….  .your tongue was a scalpel
……………………………………………………………………….you split my heart
my heart was scary                                                                   my heart was scared
my heart exploded                  my explosion emptied
……………………………….  .the earth
……………………………………………………………………….of everyone but you
……………………………….  .& your heart

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Daryl Sznyter is the author of Synonyms for (OTHER) Bodies (NYQ Books). Her poetry has appeared in Diode, Harpur Palate, Poet Lore, The American Journal of Poetry, Best American Poetry Blog, and elsewhere. She received her M.F.A. from The New School. She currently resides in northeastern Pennsylvania.