Poem #20: Heart and Mind

The mind needs to know,
must determine the where,
undertakes to know the when and who,
requires an understanding of the why,
endeavors to determine the what and how,
strives to add two and two,
to comprehend reasons and predict results,
link facts, determine, and decide.
And it remembers.

The heart simply feels.
Emotion and sentiment.
Compassion. Longing. Devotion.
Affection. Concern. Sympathy. Attachment.
Pity. Appreciation. Respect. Admiration.
Tenderness. Passion. Love.
It knows. It accepts. It desires.
And it forgives.

The mind chastises.
The heart pardons.
The mind unearths, accuses, analyzes.
The heart overlooks, absolves, exonerates.
The mind defends, shields, attacks.
The heart listens, heeds, welcomes.
The mind eschews susceptibility.
The heart epitomizes vulnerability.
The mind magnifies, recalls and re-recalls.
The heart minimizes and forgets.
The mind emphasizes.
The heart empathizes.

Heart and mind.
Equally vital to human life.
For you, which slams shut in exclusion?
For you, which opens in welcome?
Which accepts? Which rejects?
For you, which controls?
For you, which breaks?

copyright 2006 by Chuck Morlock