I am the bell
who tolls for No One
the one you want so wholly
to toll for you –
to drum your inners
and let you know you’re running late
for work today.

I am made of cast iron
and cast away
but mostly string –
the thick kind of string
that twists together
and makes warm things.

I am caged the same way I am bird
which is to say
I am neither;
my wanderlust
makes me trust wings
who are not ready
to be wings.

But I am woman,
not metaphor.
So forget all that.