Big Blue Sheets of Wings

By the clear, clear stream I asked
For sky-sized sheets to write on,

A blue page or two as large
As the cloud-free arch that dawn.

It’s not that I was in love.
My heart was not in the least

Full up—I’d had a few thoughts
That danced like cranes in my head.

Like cranes, they all looked the same,
And like cranes they had huge wings

That they swung wide like white gates,
And I knew that thoughts like them

Gained force and charm as their count
Grew large, so what was the same

At a glance could start to dance
Like a kick-line in a show—

Could dance to make more and more,
Which is what life made dance for.

I’d have filled the sky with them,
If I’d had sky to write on.