Love II - 10. The Capacity of the Heart

What is the capacity of the heart?

I think of those I’ve loved,

Of those who have filled my heart

And warmed my body

And illuminated my soul.

Friends who were lovers,

Lovers who were friends

With hands that I have held in mine,

With fingers that I have touched through panes of glass,

Who have whispered words against my ear,

Who have murmured words against my heart.

And I wonder how much love a heart can hold.

Is it a finite vessel that once it’s filled

Must then be emptied, its contents spilled

Before it can begin to love again?

Or is it infinite in its capacity

With ever-expanding boundaries

that can never be reached?

I weigh the possibilities.

Measure for measure

I consider the love my heart has held.

Surely my heart would have burst

and my blood would have spilled

From it like wine from a broken cask

If a heart had limitations?

What is the capacity of the heart?

How do you measure infinity?