God of thresholds, guide
of souls between worlds,
have mercy on me

who when I asked you
if I could pass my last years
with less anxiety

changed me into a tiny spider
launching into the unknown
on a thread of gossamer

and when I begged you
to let me be a bigger
fiercer creature

into a polar bear
leaping between
melting ice flows.

by Vicky FEAVER, at "THE POETRY REVIEW", Volume 104:1, Spring 2014