Who could have known, Love? You and snails have this to share: A love for ginger.
There are seas beyond seeing, There are oceans vaster than this one. And on the Goosefly, We will have seen them all. I know a place Near Hudson Bay Where the snow-melt waits Not a no-cloud day. Up from Vernon We'll fly in a V, Trading the burden Of wind and of lee. There are ponds and things To stop and rest For the sake of our wings And the warmth of our nests. At the end of this Goosefly, Off go our Gooseshoes! And you're glad you knew me-- And I'm glad I knew you. There are worlds beyond number, There are wonders in our periphery. And on the Goosefly, We have seen them all.
I picked black raspberry for you today since the heat was tame enough. My knife and wicker bank, I pinch, I cut, I thank. Two barred owls to my North and South singing their duet: "This is the enormity of what you miss when you don't stand still." I pinch, I cut, I thank. I used to just take the largest, fullest leaves. Greenest margins, supplest thorns. But the smaller ones will heal you all the same. I will make sure of it. I pinch, I cut, I thank. I pinch, I cut, I thank. Black-berry, walnut, cherry, I pinch, I cut, I thank.
Ruddy cheeks, Bruised thighs, Bush-brows, Creaky eyes: Precious evidence of a body well-lived. But I think I will miss most of all your clarion giggle that has, more than I can count, refilled my lungs with air: Precious evidence of a life well-loved.
In my memory You have always smelled like fire From that chill March night-- And from now on, a fire's light Will not be its brightest part.
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