I was am bird

I WAS the girl chosen last because I was skinny & my knee socks didn't stay up

I was the girl whose name was made fun of 

So the girl became bird ....
I was the girl who thought she could change the molecular pattern of
objects and create snow or an apple or direct the wind 
I was the girl who understood that ken & barbie were sleeping together
   and it was time to pack up the toys & turn up Led Zeppelin & the Beatles 
I was the girl who knew the scent & name of every homeless animal in the whole wide world
   and if I thought hard enough, could keep them safe & warm
I was the girl who danced on her bed while singing Hey Jude & Henry the 8th I am am ...
I was the girl who learned about music, weed & how to dance from the best neighbor-boy in the world 

He was 3 years older, gay & funny. He took me to his senior prom. He died of Aids
I was the girl who had a golden ticket to Camelot & a green Pontiac convertible
I was the girl sitting alone at the river knowing answers pooled there 

   along the sandbars & reeds 

   and if I thought hard enough--prayed hard enough
   I would hear the answers and I could then fix things 

I was the girl who discovered James Taylor
   Jack Daniels & orgasm in the same evening (while babysitting) 
I was the girl who found Wonderland under your hands
I was the girl who followed meadowlarks down rabbit holes
I was the girl who married to escape only to be bushwhacked by the karma bus
I was broken girl; weary & afraid, missing pieces of bone & heart
   Only to discover I had them all along
   Bound to my soul with a ribbon of goldenrod & blue sky
I am that girl 
And now I don't wear knee socks (or underwear)  
I still believe if i think fiercely enough, I can shield animals from harm while changing 
   apples into snow into wind 
I am 2 degrees away from knowing Robert Plant
So I sing Led Zepplin with abandon from beds, bars & cars
I have always lived in Camelot & i folded my golden ticket into a tiny origami sparrow

   and placed it inside a wee blue bottle on a thin silver thread
Marriage is ethereal & good magic
All the best stories have magic
I have been to Wonderland

   and some of my best missing pieces are still there 
Every answer to any question can be found in a JT song, 

   a Beatle's song, or a river's song
Karma bus? Well, shit happens. 

Live like you are dying even when you are weary & afraid 
I have stopped trying & wanting to fix things
And strangely--things fix.
I am the unbroken girl 

I am goldenrod, blue ribboned-sky & a meadowlark's song