MY HEART
It has a bronze covering inlaid with silver,
originally gilt;
the sides are decorated with openwork zoomorphic
panels depicting events in the history
of an unknown religion.
The convoluted top-piece shows a high
level of relief articulation
as do the interworked spirals at the edges.
It was presumably carried in the house-shaped
reliquary alongside it, an object of exceptional
ornament, one of the new such pieces extant.
The handle, worn smooth, indicates its use
in long-forgotten rituals, perhaps
of sacrificial nature.
It is engirdled with an inventive example
of gold interlacing, not doubt of Celtic influence.
Previously thought to be a pre-Carolingian work,
it is now considered to be of more recent provenance,
probably the early 1940s.
The ball at the center, visible
through the interstices of the lead webbing
and the elaborate copper grillwork,
is composed possibly of jelly
or an early version of water,
certainly a liquid, remarkably suspended
within the intricate craftsmanship of its encasement.
In Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes (2000)
