Stories with long arms

I am looking for stories with long arms
long enough to wrap around death
like the time Towi spoke to a mermaid
months before she crossed over

mermaid and dog
spoke for hours in the deep
sparkling waters near the center of the earth
where one element becomes another

earth fire
fire air
air water

in the center where everything glistens
while being born

I am looking for stories with long arms
like the story of the black plum tree
dropping its heavy fruit-bearing branches
when its person, an old man, crossed over
the fullness of both man and tree
released from needing form any longer

I am looking for those stories
with the long long arms
capable of taking us across the river
of holding us across all time

--Lorena Wolfman, 2011