I Could Take

I could take
two leaves
         and give you one.
Would that not be
a kind of perfection?

But I prefer
one leaf
         torn to give you half
              showing

(after these years, simply)
love's complexity in an act,
         the tearing and
              the unique edges —
one leaf (one word) from the two
imperfections that match.




-Hayden Carruth


{"Pink Dish and Green Leaves," Georgia O'Keeffe}