Too Little, Too Much

Li Ling wanted only

to be with one man

to be his only

to savor the benign envy

of men and women alike

for both of them

to swallow his hunger

bear and be borne

mourn or be mourned

to cling to him

as she would cling to this wanting

in her long life with loving men

bound not to her

but to the Earth

and never to be him