I'd Like to Be
Richard Jay Shelton
Wound tight to the earth,
Sheltered from the sky
By tangled trees
So aged
They’ve dropped their bark
In the dirt
I’d like to throw myself
Down upon the earth,
Sun soaked umber-orange,
Seeming soft to the human eye
Yet the hardest of the hard
Bringing life
I’d like to lie naked
On leaves withered
By the sun,
Leaves having lost
Their vitality
I’d like to be upon that earth
Amongst all that dies seasonally,
Imitating its essence,
Being wed with my last breath