THEY ALWAYS SHOOT THE WENDY BIRD

(for J.M. Barrie)

they always shoot the Wendy Bird when they get

to that

part in the play

the lost boys in the never land of my 

recurrent days.

I wish I could write it another way

I wish that I could straighten the seams

but the scene plays out.

in every dream. or matinee.

maybe it’s just that they’re too tired

or that they had too much to eat

overfilled on sweets and stories with

elaborate endings.

lost in a pirate pretending.

too blind from the glare on the

green blue lagoon

sooner or later she will plummet in blue

her pink sash immaculate;

fair ribbons streaming

and I will awake locked out of dreaming

murmuring on the lawn

how long how long

can this go on?

they always shoot the Wendy Bird

their eyes full of sudden tears

and then they say

they never meant to.

and this occurs for years.

mary angela douglas 13 october 2020