Incident On A Train

I take you out of my pocket on the train
carefully 
and you shake off the rain

because this raincoat isn't waterproof
and fling the droplets all over the place
while I pray please Lord of the emerald bird

the topaz eyes, or of the sapphire, growing wise
you, in your rubiness please
make my bird, invisible

and I see the prayer has worked to set up
an invisible screen, kind of a Chinese one
with miniature dragons, thread jeweled suns

so that I and my pet will not be seen
and more to the point, not charged a fee.
here we are. the landscapes rolling by

the washlines with their wash to dry

in all the pastels. small children with their mouths agape
too stunned to wave...
but birdie wants some brunch,

and I'm not sure what's on the menu

for a firebird even a resplendent small one
or will have I have to feed it, sigh,
just poetry drafts again. old maps

a few saltines.
pimento cheese.
raspberry Canada Dry.

mary angela douglas 8 june 2019