Wings Up Wings Down

birds in flight

a common sight

i painted birds’

wings up

my lover painted

wings down

though we both saw

wings moving

both up and down

or soaring straight

then folded when

resting on the ground

he’s flown away

with his pessimism

i flew away too

still on the wings

of my optimism

still watching birds’

wings moving

both up and down

or soaring straight

then folded when

resting on the ground

March 8, 2023

Shelley Audrey Wilson

Victoria, BC