"Go Out Into the World!" She Cried She Cried

"go out into the world!" she cried she cried

tipping their wings with frost

in the early spring,

the false queen.

the children turned to birds, obeyed.

and lifted heavy wings.

interminable is their flight, oh God-

and the sun is going down

swiftly into a sea made out of violets.

guard their meadows.

they are out of sight.

oh mother bereft of song

how long you waited by the picture

windows of a twilight

for their least return.

mary angela douglas 31 december 2013;rev. 21 november 2014