I want to die like a white peony
yielding all my light
to the dark and holy ground I once
pierced like a green sword
thrusting upward with insistence
toward the sun

I want to humble my proud crown
give up my glory
scatter my velvet petals
like seeds of cottonwoods
like shreds of summer clouds
like snowy feathers floating
soft as eiderdown
upon the earth

I want nothing to be left
but remembrance

Jody Murad Curley is a Madison native who moved away twice only to return home again, a wordsmith, a longtime practitioner and teacher of T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Chi Kung, a retired dementia care specialist, a devout lover of the natural world, and a grandmother who prays a lot.