EFFIGY

You may not touch me:
I am cleaner than fire,
More liquid than the thirst
Of your torch-lit desire.

You cannot harm me:
I am greener than wood,
More tender than the yearn
Of your life to be good.

You do not wound me:
Love is keener than hate,
More patient than the pain
Of your tortured debate.

You will not burn me:
The meaning of light,
More brilliant than flames,
Surrounds me tonight.

(Amherst, Massachusetts, 1994)