from Stray Birds [233—237]
233
In heart’s perspective the distance looms large.
234
The moon has her light all over the sky, her dark spots to herself.
235
Do not say, “It is morning,” and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a new-born child that has no name.
236
Smoke boasts to the sky, and Ashes to the earth, that they are brothers to the fire.
237
The raindrop whispered to the jasmine, “Keep me in your heart for ever.”
The jasmine sighed, “Alas,” and dropped to the ground.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on July 28, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets.