they said
anne, flee on your donkey

as you spooled through
their antiseptic corridors
dimly lit castles
of Lysol and lithium

I fell into your world
of doctors and heroes
transformations isolation
I decoded the language of our dark cure,
of our dancing partner
with his slippery seductive tongue

your poems built a room inside my chest
a safe haven
for lunatics and fingernails
when life demanded a smile
and Doris Day

oh anne, anne
of the mayflies
anne of the cure
anne of the light extinguished

let me give you this gift. I will
take your donkey and flee
carry your ashes to mercy street
blessed and sprinkled
with words with reverence
with peace

in memory of Anne Sexton and all her terrible beauty.