11 Sep
2015
Posted in: Poems
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What To Add

Today my friend celebrated the life…and honored the death…of her sister. For my part: I bore witness. And offer a poem.

Zero Plus Anything Is a World, by Jane Hirshfield

Four less one is three.

Three less two is one.

One less three
is what, is who,
remains.

The first cell that learned to divide
learned to subtract.

Recipe:
add salt to hunger.

Recipe:
add time to trees.

Zero plus anything
is a world.

This one
and no other,
unhidden,
by each breath changed.

Recipe:
add death to life.

Recipe:
love without swerve what this will bring.

Sister, father, mother, husband, daughter.

Like a cello
forgiving one note as it goes,
then another. 

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