I Cast My Poems Into The Air, Wild Swans

I cast my poems into the air, wild swans
will they wander endlessly
combing the skies of pearl

bereft of home
what theft is this
the moon will say now I am left alone

finding their wings, seared in silver
but they are their own and infinitely
it is my heart and the muffled bells

the updrafts and the excruciating wait
that is their labour and the spell
they cannot break

before the dawn and then
they beat their wings against the sun
and shine o shine in the day undone

wholly gold.
while I their mere messenger weep
and cannot sleep wondering

what will become of them,
my songs

mary angela douglas 26 february 2018