It is cold, and I am a small animal compared to the heavy sky. Food to heat my blood is not plentiful. My friends are lean and sleepy.

There is so much I am afraid of: that a stumble could lay a child frozen; that this blankness will never erupt into green.

Please keep this soft knuckle anchored to its shell wall. Keep me safe as I crack open and close up again.

When I offer my liver, let my liver grow back. The things I feed: let them grow tamed instead of becoming more rapacious.

Promise you won’t ask for my best day. I won’t ask for my best day. Keep my shadow in the safe deposit box. I’ve forgotten what it looks like.

Amen.