once upon a time
a girl was built inside a factory
situated on the edge of a cliff
overlooking the sea
she was made from the finest materials
by a man who cared very much
but knew almost nothing about being a little girl
so he made her ears too big
her face a bit too funny
and her body more like a boy’s than a girl’s should be
but he built her with infinite worlds
fastened them to her insides so that she would always have
a galaxy full of spinning globes
to run away to and play in
and he promised her that
whenever she found herself lost in this world
that she had instant access
to a funhouse
a hall of mirrors
a merry-go-round that never stops spinning
the way infinite worlds spin inside
infinite worlds
like a self-fulfilling prophecy
where spring blossoms inside of spring
and the horses never stop running

“is this a dream?”
the girl asks
the shadow on the hill.
“i’ve swallowed a stone
as big as the world
and now i don’t know what to do.”

the shadow turns
and it turns so much that
it is now in the light
and has a face after all.

“i don’t understand,” the girl says
“are you human or are you not?”
“i don’t know,” says the shadow.
“are you dreaming or are you not?”

this loneliness is like
a heavy bag of bones
and i keep forgetting that
these aren’t even my bones
i have all my bones
i have never been boneless
but i think i’m boneless
so i walk around
carrying this heavy bag of bones
wondering whose bones are these?
and which of these bones are mine?

i know about the little things
that live upon the hill
the flowers and the birdlings
and the ghosts that stand so still
i know about the stories
that you whisper in your sleep
i hear your secrets long before
the dawn begins to creep
i know that you are haunted
like a river running mad
i know about the sickly things
that make the good things bad
i know your river isn’t running smoothly,
it’s drying up inside
but i also know that i don’t care,
and still want you by my side

here is the land and the river and the sky
and the bird that grows with the moon.
here is the night and the day and the fall in between
that catches every sunset in its arms.
here are the stars and the comets and the black holes,
the sinking ships and swirling winds and falling leaves of gold.
here is your beauty up high on the mountains
and the grace brought down by the dove.
here is the reckless abandon that shivers in the snow
and the warmth of summer that will bring it all home.

we took our boat out
onto the river of time
and it slipped by us
in silver and gold
in sunlight and cloud
and once we reached the opposite shore
we looked back and realized
that no time had passed at all