Once

 

 

Once, I was a salmon. I swam upriver to

mate against all odds. That

was what I did.

 

Once, I was a hummingbird in

search of nectar, committed to

the hunt for more. Every day, I

sought the pleasure of

a thousand flowers.

Every day, my wings became a blur of

iridescent splendor. Surviving was

my anguish and my treasure.

 

Once, I was a curtain. Some days the

sun streamed through me, my cotton ablaze in

creamy white against the

window. Shadows came alive inside

my weave.

 

And once, I was a shadow, born of light.

I resembled a ribbon—rippling,

unfurling—that could never

be cut. I got to feel the soul of

something I was not.

 

Comments

[Linda]

"Surviving was
my anguish and my treasure."

[mary ann]

glorious

[Jeff]

The poet returns! Such an evolution -- fish, bird, fabric, shadow -- mating, seeking, blazing, unfurling. "I got to feel the soul of something I was not." Nice.