were i a hummingbird

were i a hummingbird 

i’d hover,

over earth until guilty verdicts 

reverberated from the laws of gravity; 

(i were sentenced to freedom 
from the day i learned to fly).

were i a hummingbird 

i’d make home 
of your garden, 

(the green and golds of living room, 
steeped in afternoon and iridescence, 

percolating through the trellis 
to the terrace where you bathed),

were i a hummingbird 

i’d live 
swiftly, 

so swiftly you did hear my colors 

writing songs through your lantana. 

were i a hummingbird 
i'd flicker,
into summer and through asia,
like the interweaving lines of your left palm 
re(a)d,
and out from every single one of your fingertips. 

were i a hummingbird 

i’d return, 

today, and every today after.

were i a hummingbird 

i'd hope, 

she were hearing,

i'd hope she were seeing

she were smiling ,

i'd hope that she were nearing

i'd hope she were

were i a hummingbird,

(and she would be).