The Bird That Flies Away Without Having To Return Back To Where It Once Stopped Poem by RIC BASTASA

what i have
i already have and
i have never asked for
more because i always
tell myself: what for?

i am not that old
to surrender
i still have tight
skin on my forehead
my cheeks still display
the gold in sunshine
my feet are still agile
like the gazelles that
i often dream
my hands still long
for a curved body
to be traced like
a map
to my fingers still
looking for
new destinations

what i have i keep
for now
what you give
i may refuse
since i always tell
myself: what for?

it is the mind that
keeps an illusion
that this body still
roars like a lion
and loves like
a dog.

i have other dreams
though
a bird that flies
away
without having
to return back
from where it stopped.