after Liz Breslin after Wisława Szymborska

I prefer fantails telling stories
I prefer sand dunes at sunrise
I prefer salt on my skin
I prefer the Milky Way seen from mountain tops

I prefer not to count spoons
I prefer dirt under my tyres, my fingernails, between my toes
I prefer afternoon naps
I prefer leaves on the wind

I prefer dogs
I prefer them short, long and sassy
I prefer comfortable silences
I prefer cups of tea

I prefer kindness of strangers
I prefer compassion to wealth
I prefer not to wear a bra or shave my armpits
I prefer to embrace my softness

I prefer not to take diazepam or diclofenac
But I also prefer to have them on hand
I prefer shavasana
I prefer Tāne Mahuta because I like my gods to have delicate toes

I prefer origami on ebru
I prefer layers
I prefer blurred edges to dictionaries
I prefer the smell of books to google

I prefer dancing and colouring outside the lines
I prefer the sound of waves over the sound of motorways
I prefer more control than is healthy
I prefer authenticity with my contradiction

I prefer poets to economists
I prefer gelato from the shop round the corner that tastes just like Rome 20 years ago
I prefer swings and slides and flying foxes.
I prefer the quiet moment of connection that is the meeting of eyes

I prefer living.