Fragile Thing

Little bird
Fragile thing
How could you know?

Beneath
Your feathered breast
I feel your pulse
Of bright blood
Move along
Complicated tributaries
But all you know
Is sky.

How is this possible?

Fragile thing
Delicate creature
Your puff of breath
Is nearly nothing
Against my skin
So small are you.

But you have seen the world
From heights
I cannot conceive.
You smell morning
You hear the rush of dawn
You spread your honey wings
And without thought
Step onto thin air.

You are such a fragile thing
Impossibly small
Yet with hollow bones
And fluff of feathers
You launch into sunrise
Forsake this world
Breathe the vapor
Of clouds
And with tender wings
And cleanliness of being
You fly!
You fly!

And you brush
The face of God