A few days against the Atlantic
clear my view,
the haze of what I think I want
is stripped away by wind and tide,
leaving what I have
and loving that —
a few paths through the field,
a few books on the shelf,
a few friends in the hills,
with strength enough and time.
The want that still remains
is what I thought I had and lost —
to call myself beloved, to feel
myself beloved on the earth.
—with two lines by Raymond Carver.
