in cramped hand / in painful head / in body full of loss aching
/ reflex exerts / muscles breathe eyes blink / memories /
swell with longing then retreat

hardly noticed / life sustains life/

joy flickers /

as evidence
I offer what I have seen— yesterday
light and garden / finally touched /
one of them (earth I think) opened mouth /
gasped / at last /

/ I tell you sulky discouragement /
you will continue to feel / hear / see /
eat the seed named longing
love useless beauty / also the startle of thorn
bleed / clot / heal and long again

clumsy knee / aching hand /crotchety net of thought —
/feeling spreads like water in the sand
all joy found / all loss known /

eye-wide / all-yes /
you will/
split too tight skin /
fruit ready to eat / the pull / the pull leading

poem and photo by Jo Mariner