The Have a Heart Trap

You could make a story
In which someone wakes up
And starts a normal day

Only to realize
They don’t have any pulse,
And there’s a strange hollow

Just under the sternum
Where the heart ought to be.
Then, in the normal way

Of magical stories,
You could trace out events
Generated by this

Peculiar heartlessness,
A tale of heartless life,
As the premise led you.

But it wouldn’t be true.
Your heart goes on beating,
Both writing and reading.