Help me lift my head up
that I might see the full arc of the sun
one last time before I fall

I want to watch the black rat snake
curl her tail around the base of the forsythia
and pull herself free of her skin

And the mantis snatch a black swallowtail
from its flight over the wildflower field
and feast on its velvety wings

I want to watch the bumblebee
search for the last drops of nectar in the cosmos patch
before they offer their prickly seedpods to the earth

I can see the woolly bear caterpillar
feeding on the rotting bloom of a purple zinnia
Perhaps it will come next for me

The yellow finch has come
to pluck a few seeds from the center of my heart
Together we will watch the sun streak the cornfield with golden light