(though love be a day
and life be nothing,
it shall not stop kissing)
–e. e. cummings, Thy Fingers Make Early Flowers
Make me then a flower
that is unashamed of blooming.
And make me a river undammed.
Make me a leaf that surrenders to death
but surrenders even more in life.
And make me a dawn that keeps
unfolding, a book that has no last chapter,
a phone that rings only love.
Paint me rose and then unpaint me.
Make me the door that forgets
how to latch, and just in case,
make me the skeleton key.
Make me a black wing that gathers
the light and gathers the wind,
and make me the light as it breaks on the wing
and make me the homeless wind.