clipped wings and a lemon scent
by @ce-thompson
you're a bluebird baby with a falcon stare
tell me one more time
about the cat-scratch secrets
hiding beneath the bloody blankets
you wash once a week
that smell maroon and taste copper
with a hint of saffron and poppy,
just to add to the irony
what else have you been keeping from us?
sometimes I wonder if I had found you first
it would have ended differently
but maybe my fingers in your feathery hair
can't ease your hurricane
that we've come to adore and despise
why did I never see it, screaming,
swelling up in there, that human whirlpool
how many nights were you alone?
when did I see you and your sunshine smile
and couldn't feel the gun pressed against your skull
what else have you been keeping from us?
because despite your skyward eyes
you're one step closer to Hell
please, don't take your mending wings too close to Heaven
you're already there