Crow/Swallow - Laura Gibson

My mind may drift from the walls of my skin

But I will not wander too far

For those who are pulled by the ivory sun

Know that home is a labor of fire

And I may have nursed their honey-bright wounds

And cradled their rhythms to rest

But I am no dreamer

I could not keep my hands clean

So I will not grieve those bent to receive

Seeds that could never be sown

And I will not lust those courtesies past

They have flickered but not chosen me

And when they march by in their motherly smiles

Swaying their motherly hips

I cannot follow

I cannot keep their pace

Time has a way of stealing our breath

And milking the light from our pores

And many will fill their oak barrel wombs

With patience instead of desire

One cannot curse a crow for her course

Or choose where her feathers may fall

I am no swallow

I am no spring bird