I Have Been

I have been A grain of sand A wisp of froth Above a wave and then gone. I have been A shark’s tooth, A piece of azure glass, The clapper of a bell, The bill of a falcon, A feather floating. I have been The sound of children, A nail in the barn, The snore of a pig. I have been sky, Day, even night And the receding arc of the world. I have been The hazy light From a street lamp In a misty eve. I have been A mouse, a blade, A comb. I have been The base of a jug And the pin in a cushion. I have been A sail And the wind, The bow, the hull And even the wake behind Spreading out. I have been A star long ago Burnt out Whose light yet arrives To us now To lead us To Be still Talk, Be still again And remember love.