(poem)

I want to break upon the shore,
To test what strength the rocks endure,
Be lost within the current’s arms,
And gaze at sunbeams’ silent charms,
Still glowing in the ocean’s core—
I trust the whisper of the sea,
That steals the souls and sets them free.

I want to breathe in poison’s smoke,
To feel it seize me as I choke,
To bare my lips, all bruised and dry,
For kisses blown by passers-by.
The clouds will bow before my face,
And wind will take my hand in grace.

I want to burn myself and rhymes,
To vanish in the flame sometimes,
Consume the forest with my heat,
And strip its secrets in defeat.
Let fire grant my one desire —
Not smolder slow, but blaze entire.

I want to live beneath the land,
To feel the spring’s revolt first-hand,
To sprout through homes in tangled vines,
And watch his days in silent lines.
The earth will clothe me in her wine—
A grape to learn where I define.