CALL ME BELOVED

Beachside recess yard, asphalt-hard,
waves crashing white noise, background
metronome beating steady time – youth
was wasted on me, certainly, sitting
cross-legged, sandblasted by gusts
stinging and scouring but I’m all smiles,
dedication to lonely crafts, studying
so I can remake myself stone still,
hope so far flown all my dreams are
monochrome, those escapist fantasies
are best left to books, but if all it took
was stillness, then yes – I could hold,
pray to empty dogma, turn me cold –
let erosion be the steady hand that reveals
the shape of me, she lies asleep; make me
a fossil. Break me down. Reduce me
to elements, make me the wind,
the sand, return me to the land –
unmake me, anything but soft,
just listen – do you hear it?
Waves, wind, white noise
just listen, make me new.