I found a sand-heart
drawn by the seaside
without the names of paramours
scribed within its curved confines.
I smiled.
For this is adoration of the sea
and the bright azure sky
the sound of waves
a constant lullaby
to even any passerby:
a true love.
I do not think we were made in God’s image
For God is all-knowing
And perhaps that omniscience brings with it
A placid eternity that engenders an unending boredom
Perhaps he thought
I wonder what it would be like to not know
To feel happiness and sadness
By maddening turns and to love and fight with equal measure
And he shaped us out of clay and made one mouth
For us to smile and frown with
And cast us in a garden that was already imperfect
For in the center of that lush promise
Hung a crimson lie:
The Fruit
The voices that fade away
And the smiles that turn into looks of derision
For affection to be met by anger
And goodwill viewed with suspicion
When I am tired of humanity
When I am tired of being human
I listen to the wood thrush’s song
Who sings so beautifully, even alone
RED GLADIOLA 