For Helen Louise Fullman
So time reduces
To essence. In essence
We persist, in scrap and word. For example,
A tatter of papyrus, one
Word remaining. I sit
Quiet in my chair but my heart moves
Swift as a sparrow in flight. I am
Moon or green grass, beloved skin
Erased, craving sweet apples
And already sated. If this is
What time leaves—
Bliss, heartbreak, heartbeat,
Dapple of morning sun—
Isn’t it heaven.