The Transformed Heart
A poem inspired by Taoist imagery.
The Transformed Heart
They said through secret Taoist art
I might perfect the human heart —
But when I look within I see
No place where that red heart could be.
The only thing that greets my sight
Is radiant, abundant light,
Which fills me up from head-to-toe
And from my fingertips does flow.
At times it shines out from my face
Or circles those whom I embrace —
It is not bound within my chest
But in my actions is expressed.
The heart, transformed, is not a flower
Which opens for a single hour —
It’s not a jewel within a case
Which occupies a single space.
It’s like perfume, which spreads its scent
In every place the wearer’s sent;
And like a dye, which spreads its stain
In what was colourless and plain.
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Comment:
They said through secret Taoist art I might perfect the human heart...
Much of the Taoist religious tradition is concerned with the quest for immortality (note that the standard contemporary name is Daoism). A variety of techniques and strategies have been developed over the centuries to cultivate this aim.
In her book Taoist Meditation: The Mao-Shan Tradition of Great Purity (French original 1979, English edition 1993), Isabelle Robinet outlines practices of the Shangqing school of Daoism. These include efforts to purify and strengthen the five viscera (heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, liver), which will become not only healthy but luminous to the adept’s interior vision.
Moreover, luminosity becomes a more pervasive image for the person who is transforming himself to become one of the immortals.
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© Metrical Poet 2026.