I, a white-masked cipher curled
above the rusted pump within
old wisteria’s protective weave
& tangle,
I, a shadow leaning out beyond
the curtain of dry shadows’ twist
(feel the subtle separating prick
of pinfeathers’ growth forming
& transforming)
My bent neck lengthening from
hoary vines’ obscuring traceries
to better see beyond the mask’s
silk-ribbon-tassled boundaries
through soft-tumbled dark,
Two girls rapidly approaching,
two pairs of eyes wide-open
in faces upward tilting, &
two pairs of small hands lifting,
cupped & empty,
(to be filled? or hopeful offering?)
I, stretching further from wisteria
above the pump’s fixed drip drip
dripping to peer, beak-mouthed,
at splayed moth-pink palms
My auriculars hearing the voice
that scolds & calls from whence
the two girls emanated
My own clear-sighted eyes blinking,
behind the white mask seeing
their reluctant turning,
small hands falling slack against
their sides like dimmed clusters
fading
My cipher-self retreating to roost
concealed from undesired view
in wisteria’s curtaining tangle,
as the Scold approaches,
Folding new-feathered wing-arms
long against ribs & hips
(mid-transformation)
Reaching keen, claw-taloned tips
back toward the coverts of upper-
& undertails,
toward stub-tailfeathers’ oh-so-slow
inevitable forming
I, receding back into embracing
shadow & vines’ hushed rustling
while the abandoned pump drip
drip drips in trickle diminished,
yet always, ever flowing.
— C.Birde, 3/22
5 Comments
queen to queens level two
Original Star Trek reference… Queen to Queen’s level 3?
very good! from the episode whom god s destroy.
Did I just walk in on two Trekkie brainiacs? If so, I am Jeopardy’s fool, in the red, outmatched and out of gas. Depleted. Maybe too much brainy-ness for me.
From the initial drawing, I thought you were a water nymph, something like a kappa without the water dish on your scalp. I thought the curling vine/plant was some sort of amphibious grass I’ve seen in various anime, some sort of healing/hydrating herb/moss. A bird of some sort? I’m not familiar with the name you mentioned.
So…two daughters or neighbor’s kids appear in search of something but turn away when you disturb them with your changing appearance. Perhaps, you are both the child and the stranger who is changing; you are reflecting on the simplicity and naive nature of youth and then puzzling over changes your body is undergoing from aging. I suppose “crow’s feet” might spark these notions of becoming bird-like; your sub-conscious mind’s own sense of humor presenting itself.
But, knowing you as little as I do, you’re sure to say I’m completely wrong, once more aligning yourself with my mother’s defiant, disassociating mentality. 😛
Still, the thought of some mythical/fantasy masquerade party in a natural setting…with whimsical costumes/transformations…is exhilarating to ponder.