soul-spun thread

little bird has the key to
fly from her cage,
but she's too afraid to turn it
in the lock.

she is a sleeping beauty,
soul taken for a ride on the spindle, and now
she can't unravel her eyelids.

(i wish i could teach her how to
turn back into flax…)

clipped feathers grow back, but
leaving those metal bars behind will take
a hundred years.