I Freaking Love This Poem So Much

My first exposure to this poem was hearing it performed by the poet herself while attending a spoken-word poetry event last month. Her performance was so incredible that I went and looked her up online when I got home that night. (Here's her MySpace, if you are so inclined.)

Anyway, I have far too many tabs open on my web browser, and the poem was one of them, so I wanted to post it someplace where I would not lose it, and also to share with all of you. :)


Wings by Megan Rickman

I used to wear wings
Painted feathers into existence
Silver tipped freedom
Stretched past fingertips

I used to know how to fly

Would wrap galaxies round my midsection
Leave footprints cross clouds
I whispered love songs to the wind
And taught stars how to shine

I used to sleep next to God

He'd match his breathing to my magic
Steal dreams from my slumber

He'll tell you I inspired the oceans
That tides mimic the rise and fall of my chest
River's currents chase paths through my veins and back
Hurricane's rain is the direct result of heart racing
Cicadas copied their cadence from my rhythm

My Rhythm,
Taught trees how to sway

And when I'd speak

When I'd speak you could hear the silence of atoms splitting
Because the Universe knew when it should be listening
I was always listening to the world
But one day Silent Screams drew me too close to the surface
And Life, Plucked me right out of the sky

The scrapes and burns I earned upon collision with surface
Barely scratched the surface of the pain intended for me

Life, Never let me leave the ground after that

And Wings,
Wings are far too heavy when not in flight
Plus burdens flocked to my shoulders
My shoulders developed a distinct hunch
Which forced my head to hang forward

They'll tell you that's the first day a willow wept

And that flowers grew taller
Hoping to catch my new line of vision
But my vision reflected skin much paler than I remembered
And I could not remember what it felt like to be beautiful

Before life Mona Lisa'd my smile
And chiseled all the laughter from my face

I can not face the mirror
Because I always tumble through
And there are demons waiting on the other side that will devour me
If I still believed in God I'd pray for mortality
But my divinity was stripped from me
Decades Ago

I distinctly remember the first feather falling

Blood Red on its tip
Tattooed Victim in my white skin
Circled my feet and painted me Target

Wind whistled through emaciated wings
Whispering "Baby Girl it will only get harder.
No one will ever love you,
Not then
And Not now"

Doubt spread through me like malignant cancer
The permanent lump in throat should of served as warning
But it had been there so long I forgot it wasn't normal

That morning feathers encircled my head like a halo

Taunting "Fallen Down Angel,
Just give up,
No one will blame you"

I realized I'd grown too weary of cumulonimbus dreams
So, I amputated wings
Stretched out impotent flesh and bone
And bled more than Miscarried children

Children Please,

Take better care of your wings
Paint feathers into existence
Silver tipped freedom
Lies at your fingertips

But don't ask me for lessons

Cause I do not remember how to fly