The Morning

---

would I love it this way if it could last

would I love it this way if it were

the whole sky the one heaven

or if I could believe that it belonged to me

a possession that was mine alone

or if I imagined that it noticed me

recognized me and may have come to see me

out of all the mornings I would never know

and all those that I have forgotten

would I love it this way if I were somewhere else

or if I were younger for the first time

or if these very birds were not singing

or if I could not hear them or see their trees

would I love it this way if I were in pain

red torment of body or grey void of grief

would I love it this way if I knew

that I would remember anything that is

here now anything anything

– W.S. Merwin