23. MORNING STAR

I had a vision one night

I saw a woman

As open as a flower--

Perfectly beautiful

Natural

A creation so perfect

That no one seeing her could lust.

I searched for a year

For the right person

To recreate the dream.

I met her in the desert

Woke her in the dark premorning

Walked with her in the cool dawn through ravine and desert fauna

Twinkling with dew.

Beyond the pale

Of our frenetic world

She rose naturally

Into the tree

Like a desert bird.