Hath I Not Wings? Poem by Jackie Allen

Too early out of cozy nest, I a fledgling
Sought adventure, the journey a soloing flight
Over towns and cities, deep lakes, wide rivers.
And, determined,
With downy wings spread wide,
Claimed I,
The birthright of my independence.

More foreign than imagined was the world.
Above, below, such strange sights seen,
I shuddered at some voices heard, yet breathed
A new perspective,
Though not without concern~
Too great
The temptation, my innocence the target.

With silken tongues, birds of prey with raw claws
Of intent, spent they their guile, coveted they my
Youthfulness, courted my wings of arresting naiveté.
Lavishly attentive
With sharpened sense of power,
On wings
Of ancient persuasion, they greedily pounced.

A broken wing. A time of healing. And now grown,
Hath not I gained some knowledge, some wisdom?
Will I not now, on wing of caution, guard
Myself from attack?
Will not any who have wings
Find within,
A way to learn from one’s mistakes?