I give you the square root of the sky,
the large province of hope and the view
from the top of the hill at the end of the beach.
I give you finches in the apple tree,
sunset, west over ice,
the wedge of sunlight in late afternoon
with its warm expplosion of cloud
at the end of a dark day——the brooding clouds overhead
unable to repress the adventure.
I give you guardians in the form of cloud
and snow and summer rain on calendula.
I give you balance and assurance to allow
you to dance along the edge of disaster
without looking down.

Here is the compass from my past
and the map I've kept hidden in my heart——
the tools necessary to find the path
from despair to happiness,
And in the wind
you will find the solved mystery
of being and moving at once.

I give the polished remains of glass,
washed upon every shore
sculpted into gems
and all the lost toys of our childhood,
the right to reinvent any world
to fit your dreams.
I give you back all
that knowledge and responsibility has taken away
and so I set you free.

—— Lesley Choyce, Shoulder the Sky