A Matter of Law

A bird in a picture

can no more fall

out of the painted sky

than you can fall

from the grace that attends your being

No matter how high that bird might be

and how young — a fledgling, really —

no matter how hard the painted trees

may show the wind to blow,

that bird will stay aloft,

so have no fear,

for so shall you

I try to explain these things —

I know my own fear

in former times

was hard to overcome —

It was hard for me, as well,

not to think of these words

as some incantation

to keep the bird from falling

Believe me — I know

that words aren’t enough,

that you, too, need to feel

the upward-bearing lift

that holds you, blanket-sure,

on your true course.

And so you can —

you, too, can feel that Love

that is the only law.

©Wendy Mulhern

September 16, 2015