spring lady

I said, once,

what I would be

I wore so many different skins

the crackle of brush

and stood

at the summit, claimed

the wind as my breath

I said I was coyote

and conqueror and shadow

skulking, now rising up the palms

I said I was lover, and poet

and claimed the world as my subject

and caressed it with the lips of my hands

I said I was free

and skirted the lawns, blameless

and hungry, and turned the cans over

I forgot the teeth under my skin

so busy rubbing my fingers

to smooth the air

and draw its trouble and pull

its mouth into smiles

mine too--mine too!

said I was master of my own sharp

bones, and drove them into arcs

said I was dancer

the skin tears

the muscles' tangles

I have strength enough,

only, to raise my head

to the spring in winter

cold lady, hovering on

the pavement

to receive her brightness

on my flapping skin

can only say-- I am

here