Poet’s Corner – What I Want You to Know

by Lory Frankel

is how much I love you.
How much is “how much”?
Oh, just say it’s an overflow. 

But this is no gentle river run.
It’s rife with rocks and hidden shoals
and falls that take your breath away,
that sweep you to a place unknown

that has no floor, no place to cling.
How do I know where you are?
How can I tell who you are? 
Here’s the thing:

Will I lose myself floundering
in your depths? Or instead,
like a rocket shot to the stars,
will I thrillingly take wing?

Or will I clamber up to a floe
where orcas rise to rock me 
off my feet into their maws,
leaving nothing of mine to show?

Or: 
shall we fumble in the dark and, 
hand in hand, come up to light,
climb into a boat and row, each 
pulling our weight, taut with the strain,
setting our sights on the promised land.

Top photo: Bigstock