I Thirst

I – skitter-minded, child of little thirsts,

Longing life’s mud puddles,

Quickly quenched,

Always, always,

Too easily satisfied,

Only acknowledging

Teaspoon deserts,

Which a little glitter hides.

You draw me to the silent places,

And open my aridity

Till my whole self yearns your streams,

Your living water.

Salt of the earth, you tease my tongue,

The puddles all evaporate

And this thirst feels like death,

My heart spun drier than the dust between the stars.

Except a grain of wheat …

Watered, I sprout.

But you – what did you thirst,

Hell raw on every nerve,

The torment of the utterly alone,

Strung from the precipice,

Falling into flame?

Angels held back, aghast,

At the unravelling of Life,

The coming down

To this.

Was it my thirst you bore,

Or something more:

Love,

Unsatiated,

Reaching out through everything

For me?