The Stuff of Poetry

Angels are more the stuff of poetry

than a garden hose and steel sprinkler fitting,

but 8 minutes of water for the tomato plants every day,

and miracles start to happen on your tongue in six weeks time.

Why is everything not miracle enough for us?

Identity is the room we build brick by brick

as a way to survive in the stories we’re forced to tell

for the running tally of who’s winning

and who’s clearly being tracked by wolves.

But we’re all inside every room.

You can tell someone who lost a loved one

that it takes a year to get back to normal,

but wouldn’t it be better to say,

“Take one full voyage on the Earth around the sun.”

We all know

a bee flies hunched over

as if it’s tied by a string to its wings,
but we don't say it.