Not My Rainbow

The rainbow has a perfect curve
and the myriad subtleties of its splendour defy my capacity to perceive
Yet this wonder was not destined for me
This beauty will never be mine to own
The sublime interplay of sunlight and crystal continues regardless,
Whether my eyes turn to heaven or return to earth
The rainbow does not belong to me, and never will

The foaming cataract thunders into the gorge
Ceaselessly, senselessly carving it’s graffiti through eons of strata
Utterly heedless of my regard, my awe
whether I sip from the shallows or plunge the deepest pools,
or whether my bones bleach in some distant arid waste

Seasons turn eternal
Trees old before my birth surge once more with life
Sunlight dapples through fresh spring leaves,
whether my body lies in this warmed glade or beneath colder clay,
And when a tree falls, as all living things must fall,
what overwhelming arrogance to presume
that the forest either knows or cares
if I listen
if I breathe

I am not lord of anything I survey

Your curves, your colours
your subtle depths, your beauty
The flow of your life, the path you carve
Your freshness, your wisdom
your warmth, your care
No matter how you move me
You do not belong to me, and never will