
The swan has lost her mate,
so I wade ankle-deep in the
shallow pond and
with breath like water
crossover
lie child pose
in her nest
surrogate heart
close to her side
and whisper
Far away, there once
lived a king
who had eleven sons
and one daughter…
Poem ©2022, Jen Payne. IMAGE: The Wild Swans, illustration by Joseph Smith, Tales from Hans Christian Andersen, 1965.