Julia M. Becker
Dwellings and Places of Residency

PALM
The palm is in no hurry
to be different
and it grows slowly
it knows how to be a palm
when it was a flower
when it was a seed it knew
how to be a palm seed
when it was a flower
it knew how to be
the flower of palm
when it was a palm it grew
slowly
and without eyes
in a salt wind.
W.S.Merwin