The Spatuletail Lullabies

For my best friend, Sarah

I have a vision of the shapes and words needed to say

That I remember when we perched on secret ledges;

The edges of a branch never broken but bound

By the pledges we made in the nighttime,

To fly together.

The sky saw us dance with stars and sing a salute,

Farewell to solitude forever.

With wings that broke, sometimes, we caught our fallen feathers

and learned to leave the valley of stars

To start, far apart from the feet that found us.

On the days when darkness needs light,

We would make any flight to meet on the bridge of our beginning.

Words and wings, spinning, designed to be defeated

In the ashes of our flame.

They say that birds bond for life;

Our nest is woven.

Your wounds I'll wipe through any wind.