Chickadee

Marigold and sage

Colours that emanate

From her aura

Rich brown eyes

Framed by curved brows

In possession of a most

Charming laugh; clear bell

Merrily ringing out

Across blue skies

Possessing grace and gratitude

In abundance

All she asked for

On her birthday: openness

Requests can be a tricky thing

Universe sometimes bestows

Dubious gifts

Morphing into twisted lessons

Black holes

Belong in space

Eerie sense of wrongness

When they’re discovered

Embedded within

The soft, pink tissue

Upon one’s chest

Hospital gown necklines

Mock brides in bleak parody

Intrepid aisle marching

Towards an unknowable future

Transformation; bloody rituals

Excising all innocence

Grey days weigh heavy

Weeks, months; boulders

To push up

Never ending hills

Maybe all women are birds

Whose wings

Have been cut

Cornered, penned

Fattened up for

Slicing and dicing

Chickadees sing songs

Only children can hear

Palms outstretched

Holding silent and still

Seeds enticing them

To perch on palms

Memories so dear

They remain forever

A gift; to sit together

Dressed in taupe and brown

Unfolding our secrets

Like when we were

Kids, we made

Paper fortune tellers

Etching purple hearts

Across four-square predictions

Little girls dreaming

Glittery dreams

Ready for golden adventures

To finally begin

Arms open, outstretched

We transformed

Becoming starlings, aloft

Riding thermals

Ever upward