Go Out Into The World She Cried She Cried Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

after Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale, 'The Wild Swans'

'go out into the world! ' she cried she cried
tipping their wings with frost
in the early spring,
the false queen.

the children turned to birds, obeyed.
and lifted heavy wings.
interminable is their flight, oh God-
and the sun forever going down
swiftly into a sea made out of violets.
guard their meadows.

they are out of sight.

oh mother bereft of song
how long you waited by the picture
window of a twilight
for their least fluttering down.

mary angela douglas 31 december 2013; rev.21 november 2014'19 october 2023