I Could Take
by Hayden Carruth
I could take
two leaves
and give you one.
Would that not be
a kind of perfection?
But I prefer
one leaf
torn to give you half
showing
(after these years, simply)
love’s complexity in an act,
the tearing and
the unique edges—
one leaf (one word) from the two
imperfections that match.
From From Snow and Rock, From Chaos, 1973. I read this poem to my wife as part of our wedding ceremony.
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