Stranger, Uncaged

Stranger, you became a friend in a blink

in a laugh

in a mere moment

I knew You,

I loved You,

and You, me

You knew me

and I, You

for a moment, the veil was lied

I saw the colors of Your radiant soul,

a prismatic expanse of wings

I could not,

did not cage You

And the wind you fashioned as You took flight

caressed my face

I breathed it in so deep,

it penetrated my rusted heart,

fluttered within that broken box,

Your breeze polished the stains,

oxygenated every cell

Lo, I am uncaged

You, traveler, You found me,

find Me now, free.

By Niyyah Ruscher-Haqq