William Corner Clarke
Playthings
In my childhood
all things were
alive with chance
I played with a wild bear
in my crib
for hours on end
An eagle built its nest
on my windowsill
and showed me how to fly
I had a fine rattle of stars
Its handle twined
with a singing snake
And I knew God
was revealed
in the barrel
of my kaleidoscope
But when I came
of age
The fallen angel fate committee
ruled on childish things
and gave my mysteries
the consistency of stone
The bear and the eagle
were consigned to natural history
The rattle to the rag and bone
But still, sometimes
I roar inside
for the loss
of my forest friends
And sometimes in the night
strange feathers
still sleek
in the wind.
Page(s) 16
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