In alarm. Return to the fire of light,
And calm returns. I have read in a book
That you destroy yourself, cleaving your heart
In an explosion of joy and comfort.
Though your warmth and vast power will outlive
Us all, one day you will lay your burdens
Down. In the years before the final flash,
I pray that you gaze one time toward me
Forgetting all that I wanted to take,
Then burst aflame across the endless void-
Forever the most beautiful star in the sky.
Shall I grow daisies or delphinium
At the door, or would you prefer flowers
Carefully cut and drinking from a vase?
A hundred seashells from a dozen seas
Adorn the steps. I have captured the sun
In a jar, snuff it out if you desire
Darkness. Shall I show you all that shimmers?
A hoard of gold and silver, mere marbles
But I will stretch them to a braided band
If ever you should wish to wear a crown.
The wind like the fluttering of feathers
Chills me for a moment, you disappear.
Plastic milk caps, glinting foil, copper coins—
I was a fool to hope you could be fooled.
