1. You are judging the moral qualities of the flowers in your back garden.
2. You find you can’t judge the moral qualities of the flowers in your garden.
3. You know what “calcining” is and can use it as a metaphor for your spiritual condition.
4. You open the bedroom window and your soul communes with the planets.
5. You refuse to be confined against the noble freedom of your mind.
6. You apostrophize Death.
7. You wish to be dissolved into dust and atoms.
8. You seek union with God but know that it will not be possible in this lifetime.
9. A bird in your yard provides occasion for philosophical reflection.
10. So does a porcupine.
11. And a whale.
12. And a moose.
13. OK. Almost anything provides occasion for philosophical reflection.
14. Verse expresses grief and consolation for grief. It’s terrible. And beautiful.