Water, I’ve been up on the mountain
searching for you,
but you have fallen to the bottom
into the sea. Still,
what a beautiful fall.
Air, I’ve crossed the land, looking
for you, wanting to see you, but still see
only the leaves you touch and move.
Fire, when I reached for you,
it was only pain. I don’t know if your wish
is to harm me, but I can’t hold you in my hand
or rock you in my empty lap or carry you.
Mineral, stones, rocks, elements true to me,
you are on shelves and sills in my home,
the fossils here,
geodes there. I have climbed
steep mountains for you, fallen down hills.
You are what I know best
and I have carried you, my true north.
I am sure of you, your visible love not seeping
quickly into the earth,
not invisible as the wind opening a door,
not burning with my touch.
Thank you for not changing so quickly in time,
running away, falling through hands.
Thank you, what I find
in all places I have been,
your being there, as if on fault.