Build me a heart
of spinach
scaffolding. Let my blood
flow through
vascular bundles
picked fresh
from the garden, seeded
with my own cells, grown
into cardiac tissue. Layer vessels,
leaf by leaf, until they resemble
muscle. Form them
into chambers. Engineer
my arteries
from hollow
stems. In the backyard
you will find
Joe-Pye weed,
my organ donor,
near the milkweed
and Monarda. Brush off
the butterflies
and slice
a stalk segment. Insert it
under my sternum.
Create a tunnel
to my atrium. Construct the bones
of my ribs
from vascular columns
of wood, from the fibers
and tracheids
of cherry trees. Close my chest
with needles
from hawthorns.
Sew me up
with pea tendrils
curling around
my intestines.
I want the next
passing thunderstorm
to jump start
my heart.