Window and Shutter

At our age the imagination
across the sorry facts
lifts us
to make roses
stand before thorns

-William Carlos Williams

Window and Shutter

I am made from all of it.
I carry it with me.
I don't need to imagine it.

The thorns are woven through with roses,
roses with thorns:
if I separate them
I cannot tell the story.

Looking out, what we see, we see only,
because of who stands behind us,
because of who has taught us to look,
We each, as window and shutter.

Winter days are short
and even if we sometimes need to remind
ourselves and each other -
we're moving towards the light of
longer, summer days.

We each, as window and shutter,
because of who we choose,
because of who we are looking with,
We see only, what we see, looking out.

You cannot tell the story
if you separate them:
the joy is woven through with sorrow,
sorrow with joy.

You don't need to imagine it.
You carry it with you.
You are made from all of it.