Stay Like Clay

by James Crews

How we want hard things to soften
and change right away, for frost
to lift off stiff blades of grass
before the summer green can fade,
and for a gentle rain to prevail over
sleet that coats each leaf left
clinging to gleaming black branches.
For the furrowed brow of a loved one
to smooth back into a smile,
and for every clenched fist to unfurl
into a small bowl, ready to hold
whatever small thing falls inside.
Maybe the trick is never to harden
in the first place, to stay like clay
outside the kiln, willing to be
molded, reshaped by the rough
and tender hands of this world.

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Poem reprinted with permission from James Crews' new book, Turning Toward Grief