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Orphan
You chance upon her
in the far reaches of the backyard
a place you never go
and there she trembles a tiny tiger in a blurred world
secreted in shadows below blackthorn shrubs
faint mews draw you closer
the power of her vulnerability
fills your veins with a pulse rising
brimming you with a nectar needed
like a dry stream bed restored by remedy rains
how helpless she is with eyes just opened
her eyes like skylights —translucent
and filled with new wild blue innocence
neglected yet beautiful
you see the phenomenon of her will to live —
her outsized feistiness
belying such a petite package of need
with teeny needle claws and protests the wisp of a hiss
... and you recall the bramble burr mockeries
aimed at your inept childhood armor and voicelessness
born a feral
her mother likely lost to speed-wheels of a car
or snap-jaws of coyotes whose throats float howls
above black tree lines with the mist and moon
it will never be known for sure
and you wonder if she wonders
if sweet milk purrs with soft belly fur
will ever return to snuggle her
she’s been cold and alone for far too long
so you gather her in the hug of your hands
curl your chest around her littleness
a shield formed against her loneness—
your long-ago-child lost in foster mazes is recognized
and you decide not to let Nature take its course
instead you sit with her swaddle her nourish her
with a family flame alive in brick-warm-hearth
as you heal the orphan within
Copyright ©
Susan Ashley
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