In a minute the honey will drip from the ceiling
In an hour it will flow to the sea
In a day the clocks will turn back to one
In a week the ice will melt from their face

In a month I'll refuse to see the signs in front of me
In a year I'll be back in front of the window
And the snow will be falling down

I owed a great deal to the intricacies of time and grace
And there was joy left in this hopeless face
And in an afternoon it all could change
And the doves could be calling in the rain

In a season the rain could wash away the sound
Of wishing yearning all around
And bring the spring to begin anew
Out of a long long wintertime the flowers were blue

Blue and white and red and gold
The tales and stories we all were told
With colors and castles and gardens and gates
They'll warm your hand up if it's cold

The globe of light rolled down the street
Like a million futures told and yet to be told
What's around the corner up ahead
We can go together and find out

The typewriter now italicizes by itself
I don't know how it learned to do that
It's like how my refrigerator cooks by itself
And how my heart sleeps without being told

I could hear the bells in the wintertime
Down the street on the snowy night
And I wondered where they were coming from
And I thought I might have time to go see

In a million years this will all be gone
But maybe the trees will still be there
In a thousand years the morning glories might still shine
Under the moonlight and the stars

In a decade the scars might heal from the wood
Or maybe they're supposed to be there
Or maybe it's both or maybe it's neither
Like how the universe must both be limited and limitless

Is there a limit to this river
Or does it just flow on forever
Over waterfalls and hills and across the ground
Maybe in a year we'll find out
As we float along and along

Do the dandelions remember me?
Do the honeysuckles and milkweed and old porch swing?
Do the fountains of joy that fell from space
Carry more time within
More years of grace?

If I can't trust the voice of a flower
And the streetlights lose all of their power
And the lamplight glowing at early dusk
Is like a sliding poem smooth and unrushed

And the castles open all of their gates
And the owls forget all of their traits
And the morning in the public square
Is still without people everywhere

And the caravans of ruby and steel
Break down in the road and the passengers kneel
Before the skies and heavens above
Asking the fates to send down their love

And the morning doves forget to sing
And the noontime bells forget to ring
And the afternoon sun forgets to shine on the lake
And the sunset forgets to take its place

If the leaves forget to fall before winter
And the whirpools forget to flow around the center
And the halls won't echo as you walk through the silence
Even if the floors are made of marble

And the flowing gates of truth and time
No longer flow out and then unwind
Down the decades and through the years
Spilling out your hopes and tears

If the memories come rushing back
And you're thrown off your feet and over the tracks
And the lions guarding the train station gates
Wake up and roar and run to the hills
Out of their place

If the birthday party at six years old
Is like the math exam a decade later
If the decade flows back and you're still there
Six years old in the middle of winter

I want to be there to help you
I want to be there to make you feel better

In a thousand years the skies were still talking
Of clouds and sunlight and glowing reflections
And I looked in the mirror and wanted to make an impression
On the winds and the stars and the sea

And I looked back and there was a hand
That traced the words from long ago with a sigh
With a sigh and with a sigh
And suddenly I felt like I wanted to cry

I wanted to laugh and I wanted to sleep
In the golden arms of sunlight deep
The cool refreshing air had returned
And you were there
And you were there

If the sun wants to open its eyes to the moon
I will ask it permission
To climb the ladder to the stars
To the dragon's eyes that shine in the sky
Where the shooting stars fall like glowing tears

If you wanted the clouds to open their eyes to the sea
I would do it for you
Or at least I would try
I would try and I would try
The clouds open up to the sea
And the rain falls to the waves beneath
Spilling its secrets all over the ocean
Like it can't hold back anymore

In the castle there is a lily
That lives in the old stone room
Up near the window and the vine of ivy
It glows in the light and sleeps in the calm
And no matter what happens, the flower stays fresh

I try to hide the castle
I try to hide its fountains and its gardens
I try to hide the pond and the honeysuckle
I try to hide the valley where it lives
Tucked away behind the mountains where no one can see
But it's no use

I am me and I am me
Just like the river flows to the sea
Like the candlelight of the stars falls on the ocean
And the swimming of whales is poetry in motion

I don't know at all where to begin
To trace my steps back around the bend
The turn in the Nile where I fell off the tracks
And Egypt fell like shards of glass

If the sunlight wanted to rest its head in my room
I would let it
I would let the light rest awhile
Its slanting streaks swirling in the golden dust
On a sleepy afternoon in the fall

If the moon wants to apologize to the sea
I will ask it to go a thousand miles
All the way around the earth
So its glow can cover all the waters

I have traveled a thousand miles
Forever ago and yesterday
To almost be back where I started
But with a thousand miles

Who knew the pyramids were made of glass?
That they could fall to the earth and shatter like a cup knocked off the counter
Who knew the Eiffel Tower was made of tears?
Tears and rain that fell from the sky
You can see it when it rains in Paris

As the steps wound down from the stars
My footsteps slowed on the spiral staircase
As I approached the earth and realized I was almost there
This was the ground you could see from the heavens

The wind slowed to listen to the songs of the trees
And I fell asleep on the couch
I wanted to sleep there all day
I wanted to sleep there all year

And still the lily in me slept
Even surrounded by shattered glass
And I loved something more than anything
And it was gone

The songs of the whales filled up the sea
Like so much moonlight shining from beneath
And the valley was quiet in the night
It's a little far away from the sea

Did you float in through my window in the night?
The curtains were open in the breeze
Sunday was quiet in the morning
It was clear and white outside

If the plants want to be childish
I will be childish with them
I never grew up in the first place
And I never will

And I was alone where I wanted to be
Where I always wanted to be
The stars fell into my bloodstream long ago
A long long time ago
My blood is filled with starlight
And I just wanted to be alone
And I just want to be alone