IRIDESCENT STARLING
     for David

by Emily Black


A starling with a broken wing came to me. 
He rested in a cage where I fed him and
changed his water every day after school.

He looked at me with a measured gaze,
spoke of love and hatred at the same time.
Tell me, I pleaded with him, tell me your

secrets. Tell me your desires. He only stared
at me from one eye in his profiled head. He
never looked at me directly.

Eventually his wing healed, and I turned him
loose, left him to forage for himself. He was
an adult. He knew how to take care of himself.

I have known many men like that.  
They let me attend to them when they
wanted but then became resentful.

One thing I know: they can’t be caged.
They are free and wild like my silken feathered
bird. They come and they go.

They were fleeting. The one who did at last
choose to stay forever looks at me with eyes
full of mystery, eyes that I adore.

* * * * *


Emily Black, the second woman to graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida, enjoyed a long engineering career. She began writing poetry recently and is published in numerous journals. Her first poetry book “The Lemon Light of Morning,” was published by Bambaz press in 2022. Her second book is scheduled for publication in 2023. Emily wears Fire Engine Red Lipstick.