How Wide the World

by Paul Hooker

The world stands out on either side/No wider than the heart is wide. 
—“Renascense” by Edna St. Vincent Millay
 
How wide the world?
“No wider than the heart is wide.”
 
Enough to gather in the storm
that tears not merely roof from hearth 
but soul from soul as well?
 
Enough to bind the wounded orb
bleeding from every pore
weeping in every chirp and howl?
 
Enough to reach between nailed palms
opened  out in love’s embrace,
‘til they circle ‘round the realm of pain.
 
How wide the heart?
As wide as all the world is wide.