A Wish

I want to play the kind of music that--

makes people pause halfway and restart 

so they can hear the missed melodies and hidden harmonies.

I want to draw the kind of painting that--

makes people reach out with certain fingertips 

if only to caress the irregular texture of the oil strokes.

I want to cook the kind of food that--

makes people lick their chapped lips 

in eager anticipation of the homely bursts of flavor.

I want to photograph the kind of picture that--

makes people travel as voyagers and pilgrims

through planes thousands of miles above and away.

I want to choreograph the kind of dance that--

makes people slap their palms against their thighs 

along the phantom journey their limbs mimic.

I want to write the kind of story that--

makes people breathe inside the skins of other beings

as their hearts beat to a universal tempo.

I want to create--

the kind of stone that shines brighter than a jewel even when unpolished

without the need to chisel the chunks that give the sparkling bits meaning.