21 things

are you hard, are you strong, are you
willing to work hard? when you are intimidated
will you identify and conquer your fear?
are you fierce, elemental, and aware
of the heat and spit and clay that made you?
do you feel the hands of god and the world
at work inside your soul?
when you are lost, will you break new ground?
when you are abandoned, will you let the loss
teach you, will you let the pain build you?
when you are cold, will you build a fire
on the bones and the kindling of your past life?
are you careful, are you deliberate, do you watch
the path your hands take across your lovers' bodies
to see the signs and sighs that you create?
do you listen, will you hear, can you compose
a response for the elegies they will write for you?
when it gets bitter, will you swallow?
when it is dark, will you be a lamp? i am oil,
slick and boundless, and viscous in your hands:
for a lamp, i am a wick; for a path i am
a guidepost, and if you are willing
we will go together, hand in hand, light in dark.