Rewilding a Soul

When she opened the cage,
she felt bars beneath her fingers,
a metallic chill that lingers
and almost stops the heart.
Her soul perched on the edge
among shadows of danger,
liberty felt so much stranger
and the landscape was stark.

The taming had taken its joyfulness,
silenced its song and left it helpless.
Its eyes were dull, their spark was quelled,
it was not ready to face the world.

It would not take flight,
delicate bones had petrified,
once glossy feathers had all but dried –
but then it felt the sun,
a single beam of light
through a window opened wide,
it caught a whiff of liberty outside –
and knew the re-wilding had begun.

Kim M. Russell, 22nd August 2020

For earthweal open link weekend, also linked to Poets and Storytellers United Writers’ Pantry

I returned to Sherry’s weekly challenge from Monday and the idea of re-wilding our souls.

35 thoughts on “Rewilding a Soul”

  1. Deep linking between psyche and body, Kim. Favorite lines:
    “she felt bars beneath her fingers,
    a metallic chill that lingers”
    and
    “It would not take flight,
    delicate bones had petrified,”
    And then “a single beam of light” and “a whiff of liberty”
    I ❤ your poem.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. I love that moment of recognizing freedom. Once I rescued a hummingbird that had gotten indoors. She was so terrified, when I opened my hands to release her, she was on her back, immobile. Suddenly, she realized she was free and zoomed off. It felt much like your poem describes…………….

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.