Points of Clarification

And though I say here sorrow beguiles me  I lose no sleep;and though I say our country’s journey is one long rigmarole  its villages and ridges are succulent and sweet;and though I say here “Watch me now! Watch me!”  truly I’m shy as stage curtains, demure as tiny cups of espresso;and though I quote Wordsworth, Zagajewski, and Dao  I come from gunshots and beatdowns, raw and dirty:  The day was mild, the light was generous;and though I’ve said in the past: I wear / September on my face, /  which is eternal, I treasure, too, June mornings soaked  in song, July’s fevered cauldron wilting us like seared spinach;and though we say darkness succumbs to the light,  I’ve been reading Faust, questioning the morality  of knowledge: our icebergs and mountains  auctioned, earth collapsing, human flesh for money,  crickets barking loud as generals;and though we say I do unto I do death do on cue,  I’ll forever hold her, a jewelry box in my lap  full of prayers and stays against confusion;and though they say world without religions,  without revelations, instinct effaced by reason,  I swear I can reach up and touch your laughter.