Do you think me
so easily broken
But a limp pennant
in morning’s grey stillness?
The smallest stirrings
will re-wake me
to bright and snapping
Take my legs
you will not steal
the paths I have walked
Take my eyes
you will not erase
the beauty I have seen
Take my tongue
you will not silence
the songs I have sung
Take my heart –
you cannot
Crack open this shell
and reap only blood
The treasure of my soul
is mine alone to give
or refuse
To those like you
who misunderstand
the very things they covet
not but confounding
scraps of echoes
to be found there
beneath the table
of my true repast
where you roll and snarl
and snatch at nothing
cae – 10-31-08
