No Harm
Like the wise woman
you encountered in the
enchanted forest
I expect you will
treat me with caution
and trust nothing that I say
and eat nothing that I offer to you
and yet
I am here to promise
that I mean you no harm
I don’t know when
enough impossible days
will pass by
that you may see into the heart of me
to know that there is
a kernel of kindness
illuminated in the center of the fruit
because I am not a deceiver
and yet
what deceiver
would tell you differently?
If you cannot trust tomorrow
or for an eternity of hours
then I will borrow the patience
of the cat and stare
into the passageways
where the mice lie hidden
waiting for your understanding
to smash open the door
like Amaterasu growing tired
of her seclusion
finally ready to party
with the gods.
La belle dame sans merci by Arthur Hughes
