by: Kevin Hart
from: Flame Tree: Selected Poems

O come, in any way you want,
In morning sunlight fooling in the leaves
Or in thick bouts of rain that soak my head

         Because of what the darkness said

Or come, though far too slowly for my eye to see,
Like a dark hair that fades to gray

Come with the wind that wraps my house

Or winter light that slants upon a page

         Because the beast is stirring in its cage

Or come in raw and ragged smells
Of gumleaves dangling down at noon
Or in the undertow of love
When she’s away

         Because a night creeps through the day

Come as you used to, years ago,
When I first fell for you

In the deep calm of an autumn morning
Beginning with the cooing of a dove

         Because of love, the lightest love

Or if that’s not your way these days
Because of me, because
Of something dead in me,
Come like a jagged knife into my gut

         Because your touch will surely cut

Come any way you want

But come