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Quiet Birds Don't Rattle Cages By Doug Belleville

By The Rising Phoenix Review on July 14, 2024

Quiet Birds Don't Rattle Cages

she came to us early
a pixie,
barely there

I didn't see her,
tiny as she was
a translucent specter

rocking herself in a corner
…somewhere

I didn't hear her,
quiet as she was
tiptoeing around treatment

shards of young people
cracking apart
snapping back as mosaics

over and over
she disappeared
into the dust

far from consequences
and fists
people and meals

Damn, the pain she suffered
just to be
…unseen

she came to us later
a firechild,
spikes of pink hair

a storm on a mountain
demanding
to be known—

fists in every room
words crawling
from a rotting pit

splinters up and down
her arm like road spikes
her therapy pencil
…gone

the head banging
the vomit
the hospital trip

Damn, the pain she endured
just to be
…seen

and then a spark

conversations,
laughing fits
fed with ice cream burps

occasional okayness
origami poems
arranged on her bed

and hope

tethered to phone calls
from foster parents
she had yet to meet…

she came to me recently
a woman,
mighty as can be

full of stories
smiles and pictures
of the life she's living

the tragedies and joys
the students she taught
the kids she raised

and memories of when
she came to us
a lifetime ago

she left me that day,
I gave her a hug,
she gave me hope

and a faded origami

Listen to the audio - 1:42

By Doug Belleville

Biography:

Doug Belleville is an emerging poet and mental health professional. His writing often focuses on mental health issues, inequities, and the human condition. He lives in Ohio with his wife, and has three adult children and two dogs. In addition to writing, he enjoys hiking, traveling, reading and playing chess.