Heart-Shaped Ruby Poem by Sonny Rainshine

Why is it that serenity,
peace, and pleasure
seem so well-hidden,
so hard to uncover,
when their brothers and sisters,
rage, despair, and loneliness
seem so prominent,
right there slightly below the surface,
like koi fish, all gold.

Sometimes I must burrow so deep,
cutting so profoundly into the tangle
of emotions there
that that it leaves a wound,
and then a scar.

And when finally found,
tranquility disperses like mercury,
like quicksilver, as if it resents
captivity. It will not be my slave.

And yet, in order to find
the most precious treasures,
the rubies long sleeping
in the tunnels of the mine,
it is necessary to search
far below the surface
and to keep vigilant
for glittering things.

Maybe they’re lodged
behind the more common stones,
the pain, the regret, the remorse.
Clear away the rubble,
open an aperture.
Gems only sparkle in the sunlight.