Open Wounds Poem by Mark Heathcote

'Lift me -up' because every organ in my body-
is crying out to be released like a caged bird.
My lungs are bleeding, crying let me breathe.
My heart is on the threshold of total collapse.
It's beating like a linnet's wing or a horse.
That's broken free of its bridle bit-in-mouth.
My soul wants to sing luridly and loudly.
So loud that its temper can no longer be discerned.
But I am as much a caged bird as you, my friend.
Only I can cut out a distant moment of brooding.
So melancholy, I'd much rather die than tell the truth.