June 1, 2021

The Nestling by Eira Needham

Hunched over the breathless body
tumbled from its sycamore
cradle, her mind takes flight.

He arrived quietly, entwined.
Voices hushed, they rushed
him away in a hospital blanket.

One glimpse
no caress
no goodbye

The attic keeps her secret
for forty years, a white shawl
folded in a dusty crib

Laying the naked hatchling
in a tea carton, with marigolds
and rosemary, she hums Rock-a-Bye.

Earth to earth
poppy seeds
scattered

As buds bloom crimson, she
wonders where he lies and what
he might have looked like now.



 

Eira Needham is a retired teacher living in Birmingham UK. Her poetry has been published in print and online. She was chosen as Featured Writer in West Ward Quarterly and once won 1st place in Inter Board Poetry Contest with a sonnet.

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