Fault Line

What do you do 

when the heart keeps lighting candles 

in rooms the mind has already emptied?

When the heart keeps whispering stay 

to a doorway the mind has measured 

and found too narrow for your future?

What do you do 

when the heart keeps offering its open palms 

but the mind keeps counting the scars 

that came from doing exactly that?

There is a place between wanting and knowing—

a thin, trembling border 

where the self stands undecided 

listening to two truths 

that refuse to agree 

The heart says love them 

because it remembers the warmth 

The mind says leave them 

because it remembers the cost 

The heart says try again 

because hope is stubborn 

The mind says fly 

because patterns rarely lie 

The heart says they can 

because potential is a beautiful story 

The mind says they won’t 

because history is a louder one 

The heart says give all 

because that is its nature 

The mind says protect yourself 

because that is survival 

The heart says wait 

because it fears losing what feels rare 

The mind says run 

because it fears losing you 

And maybe the answer

is not choosing one over the other 

but asking which voice 

lets you remain whole— 

which voice does not require 

your own abandonment 

as proof of devotion 

The heart remembers 

what was beautiful 

the mind remembers 

what it cost 

neither memory is a lie 

Maybe the truth is this: 

the heart speaks of what could be 

the mind speaks of what has been 

and your future depends 

on which one you decide 

to obey 

Standing 

on the fault line 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

September 1 2026