William

Now there’s William. He comes

Pecking like a bird, at my

Heart. His eyebrows are like the

Feathers of a wren. His ears are

Little seashells.

I would keep him always in my

Mind’s eye…

Whatever he does, he’ll want

The world to do it in. Maybe,

Who knows, he’ll want this very

Room which, only for convenience,

I realize, I’ve been

Calling mine.

I feel myself begin to wilt, like

An old flower, weak in the stem.

But he is irresistible! Whatever

He wants of mine-my room,

My ideas, my glass of milk, my

Socks and shirts, my place in

Line, my portion, my world – he

May have it.

Just yesterday I thought about choice – that if I could I would choose for a being to not die, for environmental destruction to not come upon the world. Would I choose to keep living and taking up space and using resources if another being asked me for what is mine? Do I get out of the way, through death or through choices to give what is mine to give, so that those younger, still growing may flower into this world? What if the younger or the voiceless don’t know how to ask, or don’t have the power to ask – such as my Honduran son, the oiled pelicans in the gulf, the people and parrot communities in Central America. Am I ready to let them have my life? I am fiercely protective of life, of gifts that exist in every individual, and so, the greatest gift we can give, that is so irresistible, is our life and our gifts. But alas, that request will take everything we’ve got. Life takes unto death. When do we choose? How do we choose?

Who or what is so irresistible to you that you would give any and everything?