Under a blue basilica nave
with genuflecting dips
the fledgling sparrow
coursed down an aisle
of apple trees, celebrant.

No malice blazed
in the hawk’s eye--
a jolt, the emptying grief
as talons ripped away
the initiate’s trusted sky.

Glazed eyes
closed slow
in disbelief.

09/04/2012

Posted on 09/04/2012
Copyright © 2025 William F Dougherty