Know Me

How can you say you know me,
When you've only seen my skin,
And not the untamed world I hide,
That's growing deep within,
You haven't heard my ribs all creak,
Behind each planted vine,
Or swum beneath the waterfall,
That cascades down my spine,
You've not been here for a long enough,
To watch a new life start,
Or find the rum-down castle,
Lying just inside my heart,
You haven't climbed the branches,
That are wrapped around each lung,
Swaying with breezes,
That come dancing past my tongue,
Don't mark me with your footprints,
If you plan to leave too soon,
And only want to know me,
When my plants are all in bloom,
Because the birdsong might be pretty,
But it's not for you they sing,
And if you think my winter is too cold,
You don't deserve my spring.

~k.l