gifted

it's exhausting to try to be

all give

no take

what's offered

much less wanted

asking for crumbs

when i want the whole loaf

 

learning is knowing

is seeing is trying

is believing

is failing

 

my neighbor (he's 2)

has a habit of claiming everything

and once in hand

unceremoniously trashing it

on the tile floor

 

and a friend who has an uncanny knack

for asking for water the moment

the well runs dry

 

offered me something i didn't really want

but accepted anyway

and then it became less about the wanting

or the not wanting

of the thing

and more about the softness

of wanting to be given to