A Heart Wrenching Story

When Shorty came into the third grade after summer vacation
and showed us the purple scar down the middle of his chest,
like a ten inch drip of congealed grape juice, we all wanted
to touch the welt, but decided it might squirt from the pressure.

Shorty laughed and told us he'd sliced himself wide open with
a butter knife just to see if he really had a heart. He said
he'd held it in his hand for over a minute and watched it beat
before he chucked it back inside and sewed himself up.

He was tough, ole Shorty. That's why it kinda surprised us when
Mrs. Lofgren made him stay inside at recess, because of his heart.
How'd she know what he'd done? Besides, we needed him. Last
year he flew around the bases faster than any other kid in class.

A month later, when they faced us at his funeral, his parents
didn't have the heart to hear our theory that maybe
he'd shoved it in backwards.