Swan
Maiden
Lick and press this stamp
In your collection
The Swan Lake dancer
Who leans back in your arms
And dies
Then lifts her head
Slides her eyes sideways
Dips her beak
Into the blue miracle
And smiles
Imperceptibly trembling
Quills to steel toe shoes
Nods to the hunter in green
Elegant and serene
And bows
A great danseur
Has a fearful task
To be faithful
As a metronome
Of the cosmos
While the bird
Flutters about
He hears her mute cries
Now leaps like an arrow
Catching her mid-stride
Copyright © 2003 Meg Curtis