Dora’s bright speech
casts shadows crossways to the sun.
I gave her sparkling water to walk on.
She glided an inch above the bubbly.
She does the work of a thousand kings daily.
I mean, a thousand humble peasants.
She places the chips and carvings
back into tablets, the stone back into the mountain.
She includes loadstones and pole stars
so we earn a sense of north
and must practice paying attention
to our inner magnetism and compass.
No matter how many infinities
Dora packs into her actions,
tenderness always flows
from her crafting words and hands.
copyright © 2020 Kenneth P. Gurney