band camp, day five (a poem)

Two hours of rain means we will have wet feet.
Two hours of rain means we will wade in rivers.

Coursing hard and east, toward the horizon,
Water rushes to the palace of the sun

To feed the king with all the dirt and mineral
Collected in two christening hours.

Two hours means delayed meals and stretched steps
Two hours means gripped palms, sweating with desire

For lust, or lust for love.
For form to growth, or expression to puberty.

To be a man is to have a wife, say the two hands
Of the boy that hold the waist of the girl.

To be a woman is to give love, say the budding eyes
Of the girl that shine for the boy.

Two hours of water will grow trees tomorrow.
Two hours of water will flood hearts now.

I have a pension for beauty, say my ears
Reaching for the world and what it holds

There are too many things to notice, say my eyes
Squinting at so many colors they become gray.

Coursing hard and deep, toward the horizon,
Water rushes to my cratered center

To fill the jar I keep in my chest
to collect two christening thoughts

Two times in my life have I found love
Two times in my life have I found love

Water rushes into the palace, and fills the king.
Tomorrow, trees will grow where water stands.