Bird of Three Realms
Brigit’s swan
smooth-necked
glimmering thread
embroiders every realm
draws them nearer to each other
one to one
to one
wings whistling
strong-shouldered
she slips
from the cushioned sky
settles
on the silver-furrowed lake
with one swift push
she breasts
the unresisting glass
drifts wings curled above her body
digs her beak in argent waters
plucks the floating cress
she hisses at the stranger
open-mouthed
shakes her coal-ridged forehead
sets her foot like blackthorn’s
trunk
on damp and yielding earth
feeds along the threshold
of the realms
Brigit’s swan
her shape given the fleeing
gold-chained lovers
her feathers
on whom rain beads and
—harmless—
falls
are sewn together in
the poet’s journey cloak
give vision flight
bird of three realms
she sees
the trembling sky
feels
the shivering waters
hears
the earth grumbling
beneath her feet
Image: Mute swan (Cygnus olor) looking for food in waves, Windermere, England. By Michal
Klajban [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]