Paper Heart

Paper Heart
 
Begin with the blueprints
not unlike those typical
chemical drawings: pipes
of veins and arteries. Bio-
prints call for stem cells
to differentiate into organ-
specific cells & all supporting
structures. Fill the ventral
reservoirs to the brim
with bio-ink made from these
cells. Inject them—just as
inkjet printers shoot ink
on paper. Let the bioreactors
fold heart tissue into new
molds. If only doctors could
 
program machines to print
out our hearts as easy as this,
just like any other adaptive
manufacturer creating
nuthatch eggs—perfect
in every physical dimension—
then we might be able to live
a little longer, love a little
deeper, erase regret. And
when they’d print them out
with ink & blood on artery
walls, they’d be inscribed
with words as soft as tissue
paper to soothe men’s hearts,
and most especially mine,
from its genesis to revelation
of love… lest wickedness
found in my heart returns.

(First published in Event Horizon Magazine)