at the gates

at dawn,
I settle down at the front gate  
at the temple's door  
sip rose water from Stoney springs  
to heal the panic  
let me witness the wonder  
of you uncoiling your fingers  
healing a beheaded flower stem  
breathe into it before the sun rises  
brush the floors of the tender shelter.
===
gather in a basin  
dried crystal tears of broken stars  
the missing part of a starving moon  
that can't defect its orbit  
to witness you purify water into a holy body  
dipping your feet into it  
from the front gates  
show me what I'm missing  
to praise you  
when everyone is gone  
so the mourning could find me content  
or will I wither here 
before I'm let in? 
===