6.30.2023 - Poem for a Duckling

6.30.2023
Poem for a Duckling

My best day, the day I compare other days to,
Would have to be the second time I met you.
Four a number separating our ages,
Dividing our years.
You made me believe in “chosen family,”
You were never merely my friend,
It’s like sisters separated.
Little sister wrapped and carried far away,
Then reformed into a pair.|
What a strange story is ours.
The bright moments of laughing eyes and clapping hands,
The darker chapters providing binding tension,
Rope always knots more tightly under weight.
When you were a child you were so like a duckling,
You walked and talked smaller than yourself.
The day you were known, publicly, as a swan,
Was strange indeed.
Yet, you were all swan all the time in my world.
I always saw you shining,
Saw you stronger and straighter than anything else.
I saw the care you invested in life,
The grand visions and gentle touch,
The water flowing to sea,
With fire lashing all else as it rises.
I became a raven to fly by your side,
To soar and see as you see.
We sail loosely tied on our separate courses.
No matter how far,
We remain connected.

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Swan