Abiding Goddess: Dougherty 1985

Flame Kissed Wings ©

Did I bear witness as the last of these
With a raucous echo and pulsing wing
Vanished flame-kissed amid the forest trees?

The sun peeped through the mighty leafy sieve
Of Amazon green where he perched and preened, but
Did I bear witness to the last of these?

So vast were wings that stretched against the leaves
Of primal vines, and then he suddenly
Vanished flamed-kissed amid the forest trees.

So huge, the beaks that tended to the needs
Of tiny chicks within the nest, but
Did I bear witness to the last of these?

So strong, the foot that clutched the fruits and seeds
That would have cured our plagues and cancers, but
Vanished flame-kissed amid the forest trees.

A simple question of economy and earth,
A spark, a flame, a world a-fire, so
Did I bear witness as the last of these
Vanished flame-kissed amid the forest trees?

Beverly Hearn Cook