Song of the Lark

open windows invite birdsong
and I am weightless upon the wind

your promises are like whispers of
bulletproof glass, safe rebellion

there is divinity in midnight joyrides
and we are stars crossing Orion’s belt

but we are woven too closely
threads like boundaries broken

are you afraid of my mouth
its loose tongue and sharp teeth

all that research, months of obsession
and the best you can do is count

three strikes and I am down
knives in the back and chest

but the ground will not have me
wounded wings and all that blood

instead your hands cover me
a goodbye of dust and wood

my father finds the bed still
made and knows I am gone

he shares last year’s school picture
and makes an angel of my mistakes

you search for me, draw wandering
maps when you already know the way

but sweet Rachel rests on her faith, makes
confession like mother taught her to

is this how it feels to become a ghost
summer balm gone cold in the hard earth

bones made memorial for the dead
a blanket of shadows to keep me still

Header photograph © Jason Jackson.