For the Moon

this starry sky. everything I have wanted to know
about love. it's true, friend. we have made our
homes on those little lights out there. it is a sea
that we must cross. the owl, guardian of that door
his feathers make less sound than an eyelash dropping
​he must not be heard, but felt. the soul is weighed
against that countermeasure. I have lost so many
of you on that voyage. my words were not always
good. my throat was not my true throat. I stumbled
in and out of the shape of a bear. I knew hunger
and loss and stood on two legs. as if I were a
man. as if. but sometimes when the moon
disappears behind silent velvet, I sing you lullabies.
all of you. I touch your faces with new pens.
I see you from the other side of things. this mercy.
an escaped horse. the keyhole at my navel.
it is not enough to live and say
I could not love everything. if I was the earth
I would hold you. if the sea, I would kiss you.
even suffering, all of you. the starfish are my hands
take them. I forgive your lack of thumbs. I forgive
you the stars that you say aren't there. I have seen
them all. I am on my knees, hands out, to catch
them. don't lie to me about time. it does not
exist. an owl told me so.