If walking late in the day, doubling
                                         back the way she came

she is found (with a handful of lilacs &
                                         mud on her shoes,

a leaf in her hair),
                                         & he who finds her offers a gift

(so to speak)— is she then the one
                                         given? Is she the gifted?

Plainer by way of the gift
                                         of grass, shed of unwanted

givens, she refuses. So does he
                                         follow, shrugged off, her

trail. This again,
                                         offering, only his gift is

insistence, shed of giving,
                                         doubled down. If walking late

in the day, he insists upon her
                                         upon overturning her plainly,

so does the given’s keeper:
                                         is that the way the given

goes?