you need grief and wrath
to respect what you have
and to give none to what you do not
to know that every person who has lived
is a peer and partner in creation
of which you are an irreplaceable part
worthy of the respect due them
but no more than you can give
worthy of the love you bear
whose word is your treasure
yet still without bearing
on your making
until you grant me grace
the scent of self evidence
and i find in your words
that you are on this day my maker
like tide and moon
in language and lens
we are surveyors
what is different today
is that i am my own
there’s an impression you make
upon the dancing flame
to love i admit
i must know what it means to hate
so hate me well
so your love be properly placed