Clematis

A vine wraps

     Around twisted metal, chain-

Living and naked

     It grows.
Up to heaven- go!

     Never minding roots or seed,

Bloom to die

     Alone,

Wrapped in blankets

     Too tight to peel

Away from skin, bone.

     But go, grow.

No death for us,

     No chains of rust.

You’re a landscape and a miracle

     Not made for decay.

There’s snow, I see

     And you, bareboned

Stand out in dull humility,

     Nude and modest.

You do, you know-

     Embrace dying, as

Cold roots and clinging tendrils

     Grasp  inevitability.

Oh, heaven!

     Beyond green cathedrals,

Beyond flapping angels that nest
     In hidden spires.
Reach, strain,
     Pull me with you so I feel
The pain of living.
     Still we stand in earth
'Til safely, soundly in

     Lullaby to death, we part.