People are always
saying
be brave,
like it's something
that
I can
control-

and at night, when I lie
in my bed
and I'm on my back, quieter than
a branch
or the floorboards
beneath my frame,

I want to tell you
that I am a bird-
who does not know
that she is
brave when
she jumps and trusts
the fall-

who knows no difference
between courage and
instinct and
is not brave
at all