Present

[tanager]

Present

once upon a time
is now,
our present already misremembered:
blood, flesh, tears forgotten
in the cold
soiled by footsteps
as arms heap up glittering stones.
we cannot give what we do not take.

blinding, untouchable, bland,
we scream
we are here!—and it echoes
as silence gives thanks that we are not.

nothing
was before us, before me.
we are creation.
we give and we take away
and we leave nothing
wasted.

the seas are mine
the stars are mine
wave, tear, hide, watch,
myself, mine to borrow.
can a thirsty child thank to drink
a drop
from endless lakes?