P r e p a r e. . . . . .

If you find a nice cake
in a cakebox
on the sidewalk
you should eat it.

It was left there for you
as a birthday gift
by someone who didn’t know your birthday
or your name
or where you lived.

If you find a baby
floating in the river
you should take it home
and raise it as your own
and never tell it the truth
unless it asks you
drunk one night
after prom.

If you build a house
in a tree you don’t own
be sure to craft a space
for a watchtower
with a crossbow.
Because men will come,
this I know,
to take it from you
and going on about
“who really owns a tree”
isn’t something they want to hear