one wing still askew…
From After the Chickadee Hits the Window by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Where are your wings?
Around your heart?
At the back of your heels?
Perhaps on the curve of your hips?
Do you manage their strength?
Flex them at the gym?
Yin yoga stretch them in the morning?
Flap them speedily as the geese pass above?
Do your wings retract into your blades?
Bones softening an opening to house
the feathery miracles? Or maybe
You can take yours off?
Hang them on whimsical hooks
shaped like blue feet? What
colour are your wings?
If ever you wake with
one wing askew…
What do you do? I reckon
you still fly, don’t you?
VANESSA SHIELDS 