Would I return?
Would I return
As a flower—
Crown first,
Face towed the fire?
Would I return
As a tree—
Bent and twisted
Shading with empathy?
Would I return
As a whale—
Slowly lurking,
Warmly watching,
Being watched
With majesty?
Would I return
As a dog—
Holding space for
My master.
Holding space
Like a master?
Would I return
As the moon
Lighting your path,
And yours
But mirroring—
Reflecting.
Would I return
As the sea?
Enveloping
Disrupting
Dividing
Peace
And death-bringing
And nothing,
Nothing at all
at all.
Would I return
As
Nothing at all
Nothing at all
Nothing at all.
Would I return?
Poem: © 2022 Ashley Wolpert Miller
Photo credit: © Darya Lavinskaya / Adobe Stock”