Untethered

And when at long last
she untethered herself
from his homespun inferno,

the thoughts he fertilized with blight
the wretchedness he forged in her hope
and darkness he drew from her light

in turn, tethered him to an overwhelming sense of foreboding
one that rendered him desperate
to understand how it came to be

that she alone could mend her tattered wings
that she alone could embody joy
and that to him, her door would evermore remain closed.

For in the venomous abyss he called home
he was as blind to who she was
as to who she might become.

***

Inspired by the many young poets who have yet to find their wings and by those who, at last, soar.

Thankfully, my daughter has not needed to untether herself from anything but her loving home and friends…until she returns for Christmas break.

Photo: Alina de Albergaria, Fall, 2022