A sonnet for August (when one thing ends, another begins)

Contemplating the nature of profound change by simple acts.


"my river wild"

I went outside my own decisions, far
from what my norms would say to be, explor-
ing unfamiliar ranges, where my bar
had once been set and now was raised; a roar
of rushing waters flowing in me when
the headstrong current carried me beyond
a point and to the brink -- a moment then
where all dimensions changed, a broken bond
as one was forged, connecting and confirm-
ing what I am and what did make me that.
I know my genes, my life, my eyes, my sperm
are still my own, and yet what had been flat
now shows a perturbation, so my name
has all its letters yet is not the same.