Carl Adamshick
Compassion

It could have been a whale’s heart

she towed in her wagon.

 

It looked like an ocean sponge

with a red viscous beating.

 

We watched,

not knowing

how she managed.

 

It was sad and strange

how her heart had become her burden.

 
Found In Volume 41, No. 05
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  • Carl Adamshick
Carl Adamshick
About the Author

Carl Adamshick is the author of Curses and Wishes, which won the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets and Saint Friend, published by McSweeney’s. He is a founder and editor at Tavern Books, a non-profit press dedicated to poetry and the preservation of books.