Life of Birds

their eyes don't need to pierce cloud
wings don't have to be told to extend
see how they coax the wind into submission

watch them tumble in harnessed waves of sky
their silent agreement
in effortless flight

their grace lands with them
sinks into the earth as they struggle to walk

children chase them back into the clouds
watching their small bodies soar
wishing more than ever that they had been birds

the blades of their wings
scar the mountains, the hills
yet they flinch upon the movement

of the white blouse in the window
the young woman who holds a wineglass to her ear
and listens

for the husky whisper
of crows' wings navigating the fog
but there are no branches here for them
no perch where they might curl their toes
where she could study the darting blues and purples
on their backs

where can they go to avoid setting foot
on the rocky ground
upon which they are destined to stumble

we pray
let there always be a gentle sea
an uplifting wind
a forest lush with lazy years

the gulls cry out
where can they go
the waves are churning

earthward

 

Lauren Beebe

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