Thank you for inventing
the sport of pole vaulting

long after the last brick
had set in my Great Wall.

Thank you for breaking up
my ice caps, one Mississippi-

sized berg at a time.
Thank you for rushing

my sovereign shores
with your mild armada.

And thank you (merci
beaucoup) for orbiting me

more closely, then settling
on my very shade of blue.

© 2006 Pete Lee

These Are the Things I Want
(for Kelly)

She says: a house made of flowers,
a kitten made of clouds,
a hand made of your voice
that I can hold with my other hand.

And these, he says, are the things
I want: a room made of books,
a bed made of dreams,
a sunrise made of your smile.

© 2006 Pete Lee