Without

"To move along the earth without keeping a ledger."
                                   ~ Jenny Xie


Without reaching for a rolled-up magazine to swat
     at a spider, maundering across the floor.

                 Show me a perfectly seamless surface with not
                       a cloud, not a groove, not a tongue.

Without forcing the prisoner's head between 
     his knees, lead him into a room for unholding.

                In sleep, watch what shape the body curls into.

What it mouths, without grinding 
     molars into chalk.

                Without holding the reflex to the memory 
                       of what caused it.

Untether the dream horse from its post
     so where it goes, the gleam returns to the grass.

                Unsour the milk and release the butter
                       churn from its crock.

Without begrudging the custard another egg,
     give the day its long-owed due of sweetness.

                No more, no less.