Sadness nests in my heart

dove-like in its softness, gentle and

inexplicably heavy.

Madrid in summer. The Retiro’s birds chirp

arias

Sunshine slants through leaves

too beautiful to be compared to jade,

or silver coins,

too lovely in their motion to be

like a painting.

I think I know what paradise looks like,

now.

For this reason, if for no other, I will try

not to linger. I wonder if I

will ever learn

to say goodbye.

Some people

are permeable.

The love of the world flows

through them,

like blood through veins

or ventricles.

I envy them and

fear them. So much love,

so little control. I wonder if

they’d envy

me.

To the open-eared and open-hearted

the confidants and counselors,

souls sturdy and

unimaginably wide

I wish I could learn the trick of it

how to swallow fire

How do you keep from burning?

How do you keep

from becoming

dragons?