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.