By: Linda M Crate

i was a cancer
born under an aries moon
stubborn is an
understatement of the
century,
and my temper glows brighter
than even the whitest or bluest star;
i am a passionate being
full of love and kindness and light—
but i also feel my darkness
of wrath, rage, and i can fashion my
tongue into a dagger to cut into the quick
of any who provoke me;
i do not like that sometimes i forsake grace,
mercy, flowers, and light but sometimes
i am a hurricane
ruled only by the movements of the moon—
i try to feed goodness more than
my badness
because i know that i could be merciless as
winter with all his distance and crystals
of ice and diamonds of snow;
but that is not the person i wish to be so i let
my summer’s heart thaw all of my winter
because kindness, empathy, mercy, and love
are my greatest strengths.