All Her Names

Shall I call you a cloud
That brings the promise of rain?
Or a street that leads me astray?
Shall I name all the seasons
As day turns to night and your face appears
Or should I lose myself in the
Nameless sound when wings are drawn.

Shall I count the number of
Strangers we have met and all your questions?
Or rather, the things we forget and
Never mention.
Confusions, complications
Between detours and destinations
Multiplications and divisions, is
The way we have lived.

Shall I call you a book
Whose pages are yellowed with time?
And each whiff brings to mind
Secrets of yesterday.
Friends and foes that held you close
Made you their own
Within stories where you find yourself.

But no, I shall call you a tree
That is as free
As its roots
Which never pick and choose where
They want to go.
Whose branches are not boundaries
Marked territories
But something that makes it beautiful.
And now naked, as you sway
In the autumn wind
I lie in your shade and wait for spring.