Ms. Magpie

For Lada~

After I lost you
I made a promise

Not to pocket anything precious or golden,
Or cherish it in my nest of treasures;
Because I’d lose it to the gutters
Or have it stolen by some wicked child sooner or later –
And so I decided I wouldn’t spread my wings
Or leave this tree I sit on,
Because I’d lose far more than I’d ever find again.
On my fixed branch, declining, I cannot tell my legs from the bark anymore.

* * *

Last night
A stern, unruly wind
Blew me onto the rickety roof of Eliot Hall
Where I heard again your memorable, loving words:

Give ‘em hell!

And then the rain fell on me like
Thousands of small diamonds.
Each drop, rolling off my black feathers
Was a part of you.

The wind was your hand,
Moving with me again as I flew
Off that roof
As fast as my wings would allow.

And so I fly
And fall,
Fly and fall again,
Your zephyrs holding me
With their beautiful, bold uncertainty.