Swooping, sliding, soaring safety When I had my wings, ribbed dragonfly sheer Diaphanous as worldly knowledge Veins, membranes, and spikes Glass-smooth at eye-line And in between all chitin clear
Comfort, cuddling, warmly wing-wrapped When I had my wings, silk gossamer tough Impregnable as guileless graspings Steel, Kevlar, and gum -- echoes at finest No human copies quite enough
Earnest, peering through pale wing-shields When I had my wings, light strawberry blush Full optimist in rosy child-sight Hope, trust, and ease Lucent at sunrise But sunset wipes the pearly flush
Thorny learning came at sunset When I lost my wings, ribbed dragonfly sheer Conspicuous in adult hindsight Screen drawn, and lost Sombre in umber World full of weeping, sweeping clear
Our organic architect leaves the stage Her window-pane sails, in delicate rose Better to know the world at its worth All sad glory In plain sorry view Shoulders itch, remember their clothes