I Need
by Justine
I didn’t need my mother’s way,
Nor the shell from her moth-wing sea,
Ill-fitting, petty-pure and pretty,
And designed to her decree.
I didn’t need my father,
Nor his shoulder of salt-stuffed ice,
His sword the stone between us.
Where God’s gifts would not suffice.
I didn’t need my father,
Nor my mother in between,
I found my path through hawthorn,
Over glass where grass was green.
I didn’t need my brother, nor
His maiden oh so holy, ever pure,
Water-thin the blood between us,
None born of Adam could endure.
I didn’t need to be beloved,
Nor to sit upon the throne,
Swallowed whole to turtle silence,
As a teen I dreamt alone,
I need not another man to crave me,
Nor to hide me in the dark,
A secret from his wife and kids,
Prey to one more honeyed shark.
I don’t need one night of company,
Nor to watch a man take flight,
His broken-wing flutter-wind my face,
Flights of passion I’ll not ignite.
I don’t need to be a secret,
Nor to be one more measured lie,
I’ll live on myths I tell myself,
Under another rum blue sky.
I don’t need her brittle scraps,
I’ll not scavenge off their floor,
No worms of comfort crave my ears,
I need my wizard friend forevermore.
I need someone to hold my nights,
To wipe the clutching from my tears,
To gather me when I fall to ash,
To polish hell from all my fears.
If I meet someone in whom my needs
Are met, I’ll bless the day,
Then move along, as I’ve before,
Over no one’s song shall I hold sway.
I need to be at peace alone,
Below the eagles I’ll sleep and sail,
I’ll ache away the chains of night,
And noontime rise to lose the trail.
Beautiful.
Thanks Sherry… and oh so sadly true…