This life

THIS LIFE


This world
Will not
Drain the poetry
from my lips

Nor shall it
Extract from my throat
the dark rose that blooms
blood-red,
within

Nor will it cut
the wellspring from my womb
which harbors a tree
my secrets nestled
between its roots

I will keep
my centre intact:
The river between my ribs
Shall rush through
prairies and fields
And give life,
forevermore

This life
will not
drain the poetry
from my lips


7/15/02