It is heart Health Month, Everyone

Affairs of the heart, by Paul Hooley

Paul Hooley, 76, from Dorset, had a heart attack at the age of 63, which encouraged him to get fitter, doing more regular exercise and helping other patients as a volunteer with a hospital cardiac rehabilitation programme.
This poem is inspired by his experiences and his thoughts about the heart. He says: “It seems to me that poetry can be cathartic and can help to concentrate the mind after major events in one’s life – releasing thoughts and emotions one never realised one had.”
 
One hundred thousand times a day
She showed me all she’d got –
She’d gently nudge me in the ribs –
But notice did I not
 
Forty million times a year
Her message did she pound
She gave her unrequited love
And barely made a sound
 
Two billion times or maybe more
She prodded at my chest
Before I really saw that she
Was different from the rest
 
Yes, two billion times before I saw
The wonder Nature planted
Was in every selfish way
The gift I took for granted
 
Came the day I asked too much –
More than she could take
In an instant she had turned –
She taught my heart to ache
 
But like so many jilted loves
She found she could forgive –
I promised her I’d change my ways
In return she let me live
 
She knows I have another love
Yet never e’re complains –
Responds in fact by sending life
Coursing through my veins
 
She beats within this fragile frame
From her I’ll ne’er be free
But as long as I take care of her
She’ll take good care of me
 
Affairs of hearts must lifetime’s last
I’m dependent to the end
Upon the unconditional love
Of my precious bosom friend.
 
The poems published in this section are creative writing by Heart Matters readers. They should not be taken as medical information or advice.
It isn’t always easy to express your emotions, but writing poetry can be a way of putting your feelings down on paper which many people find helpful. If you’d like your poem about any aspect of heart disease or caring for someone to appear in this section, email it to hmeditor@bhf.org.uk.