It seems incongruous
to make different choices
grateful for
all the things he loved in the world

the opportunity to build
loss, dreams, injustice
inequality
I came to see

swept up in
deceit
the misplaced affection
these parrots
fight
families

They're noisy; they bite claw and scrape
in a quest
for
love
and
diplomacy

Equally enchanting to men
beyond the actual flames
I thought

The divide is growing.
an unlikely admission
to grapple with the past
for my girls