The Girl Who Was a Bird

 

When I was young

I wrote to a girl

(on an island far away)

Who drew her self-portrait

In cheap ballpoint pen:

A bird in a cage.

 

When I was young

I wrote to a girl

(on an island not so far)

Of my home and land

How I wished she was here:

The bird cried behind bars.

 

When I was young

I wrote to a girl

(She was brave and strong and true)

Who sang and cried in her cage

In a forgotten attic-space

As she watched the world pass.

 

When I was a woman

They opened the cage

Long enough for my friend

To spread stiff wings

To soar as songbirds should.

In the blue sky she left my sight.