Outrageous Plumage

Little wren of brown and tan

Dark eyes and hair

So different from the swans,

Who all look alike.

Didn't they see who I was?

A sparkling gem, glittering

Shining, gleaming



My childhood was family

We didn't have much

But we had riches

We had each other

Four sisters, two brothers

And I the baby to complete

The troop of love.

A house of laughter and songs

A house of learning, of God

And in the chaos,

I was the sparkle of my father's eye

Shining, gleaming



In marriage, my true self stayed hidden

Impossible to see ME

Why didn't I know it?

Every word he spoke was dust to dull

The glitz of my soul and personality

I was brown, tan, invisible

Covered, smothered



Today I stand before you,

Having stalked away from it.

From that joyless prison of love.

Today the wren is transformed

She is a peacock of outrageous plumage

I am shining, gleaming