He himself must be the key, now, to the next door, the next terrors of freedom and joy. - Denise Levertov

There is a fence around the garden but the gate stands open.

"To the Reader"

As you read, a white bear leisurely
pees, dyeing the snow
saffron,

and as you read, many gods
lie among lianas: eyes of obsidian
are watching the generations of leaves,

and as you read
the sea is turning its dark pages,
turning
its dark pages.

FOR THE NEW YEAR, 1981

I have a small grain of hope — one small crystal that gleams clear
colors out of transparency.
I need more.
I break off a fragment to send you.
Please take this grain of a grain of hope so that mine won’t shrink.
Please share your fragment so that yours will grow.
Only so, by division, will hope increase, like a clump of irises, which will cease to flower unless you distribute the clustered roots, unlikely source — clumsy and earth-covered — of grace.