I say I
&
a small mosquito drinks from my tongue
but many say we and hear I
say you or he and
hear I
what can we do with this problem
a bowl held in both hands
cannot be filled by its holder
x, says the blue whale
x, say the krill
solve for y, says the ocean, then multiply by existence
the feet of an ant make their own sound on the earth
ice is astonished by water
a person misreads
delirium as delphinium
and falls into
a blueness sleepy as beauty when sneezing
the pronoun dozes
—2010
Originally published in The Beauty (Knopf, 2015); all rights reserved. Copyright © by Jane Hirshfield. Reprinted with the permission of the author.