—Zunis make shrines on the way to a lake where I emerge  and
Miwoks gather me out of pools along the Pacific  the cheetah thirsts
for me  and when you sprinkle me on rib eye you have no idea how I
balance silence with thunder in crystal  you dream of butterfly
hunting in Madagascar  spelunking through caves echoing with
dripping stalactites  and you don’t see how I yearn to shimmer an
orange aurora against flame  look at me in your hand  in Egypt I
scrubbed the bodies of kings and queens  in Pakistan I zigzag
upward through twenty-six miles of tunnels before drawing my first
breath in sunlight  if you heat a kiln to 2380 degrees and scatter me
inside  I vaporize and bond with clay  in this unseen moment a
potter prays because my pattern is out of his hands  and when I touch
your lips  you salivate  and when I dissolve on your tongue  your
hair rises  ozone unlocks  a single stroke of lightning sizzles to earth—