From My Open Hand
Allison Berryhill
I give you
the benefit of the doubt
quick and generous laughter
rose tint on that glass
tilted toward the #IowaSky
a job that suits your skills
and leaves soft petals
as your footprints
I give you
gravel to run on
a new skill to learn
evidence of synergy:
a Broadway musical
a complex interstate cloverleaf
a four-leaf clover
the First Amendment
I give you
a chance to be kind (take it)
a chance to forget that slight (take it)
a chance to step up (take it)
a poem to write (write it)