A Lament for the Sparrows

by Claudia Lehman

Unforgotten—and
how does that ease their falling?
Lured, they learn too late
the limits of wings
the finality of nets
the enormity of human hands
whose palms have never turned skyward.

Named, perhaps, as the stars are,
they fall singing into forever,
leaving the days to come ignorant
of the empty places in their skies.

Yet still they fall,
soft down against the dust—
flung back against the heart
that dreamed them into being:
songbirds and cities,
feathers, children, and tears,
unhindered
and unforgotten.

Claudia Lehman lives in Păltiniş, Romania, with her favorite poet, Kyle, and their daughters, Josephine and Lucia. She loves teaching, old books, Earl Grey tea, wildflowers, and her comfort zone.

Photography by Kenneth Godoy