if you have not seen the earth
from the sky
you should go.

if you have not been a slow-moving cloud
you should try.

if you have not been a gentle breeze
give yourself the gift
of flight

and know
the caress of leaves.

land is where you end

but sky
is where the heart is light
and the soul is free.

* * *

with my finger
i trace on your chest
the shadow of a leaf
waving from the fig tree

then trace another shadow
of that same leaf
on the window glass

and as i am placing my hand
over your heart
the shape of the leaf is on my hand

and it is the shadow of my hand
that first touches you.

~ ~ ~

when we sleep

i dream we are sleeping in the grass
on a hill
in the sunlight

and a cloud passes before the sun
like a hand before the eyes~

the shadow of the cloud
moving across the hill
touches me
then touches you

and i shiver with the touch of coolness

then you shiver

then we are each warmed.

~ ~ ~

i ask

is this what we have
between us?

these bits of darkness,
these silhouettes of life?

with the morning
i see how easily they pass…

* * *

if you have not seen the sky
really seen the sky
with the open heart of your eye

you should lie on your back
in the meadow of time
until you cry.

if you have not watched
a slow-moving cloud on a summer day
if you have not drifted off the cluttered page
of life

you should find an open meadow and lie
in the timeless flowers
until you cry.

if you have not let a gentle breeze
arrange your hair
and whisk your face

what is there to say?

please take a leave and lie
in the open meadow of time
until you cry.

earth is where you end when all is done~
the flower closes
with the setting sun~

but sky is where the wind can fly
and where the clouds will wipe
your tearful eye.