Desperate Flight. Poem by Miki Byrne

Desperate Flight..

He saw her from afar.
She was his bird of paradise.
He coaxed her gently. Laid traps
baited with affection to entice her.
Until she ate from his hand.
He caught her. Lulled with soft words
to keep her close. Tried to cage her.
Yet she flew so high he feared that she
would not return. Still she tried.
Always improving. Gaining strength.
Able to see through the hood.
Break the jessies’. She soared.
Spread her wings. Used her strength.
Always at the end of his fascination.
Lured back for tit-bits time and again.
Wooed by whispered promises of love.
His need to tame her grew.
One day she flew higher than ever.
He imagined her gone.
To live with hawks in places he could not reach.
When she returned. He wrung her neck
and cried for her.