Always a Bird to Me
In this whimsical and melancholic poem, sisterhood and coming of age are illustrated in the metaphor of flight.
I have learned
What it is to love.
The way my sister
And I went for
Night drives, the way
She cried, got
Drunk, said “sorry”.
Like I wrote her poetry
And named us birds—
Like my sister
Is always a bird to me.
Paloma, forever a dove
And free. That’s what
I mean—we live
Immediately, deeply.
Like I cried and panicked
And thought about
Dying. Like she said
“It’s gonna be ok”, like
She always told
Me stories. Like
I never and always
Understood things. Like
We are alone together, like
I am learning to live life
Over and over. And
You love me like you
See me and it makes me now
Eternal. You teach
Me to be alone and not
Be lonely when I need to
Be. I am learning to
Let go. Learning to fly
Like you taught me.
Process
On a quiet spring evening, I found myself writing about how quickly time moves. How, at 19, adulting feels like rapidly approaching my future whilst free falling back into my childhood. For one reason or another, this made me think of my sister. Paloma is always teaching me what it means to live in time and to grow.
Maya Collins
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Maya Collins
Maya Collins is a passionate writer, artist, and leader in her community. She is currently a senior in high school, and especially loves writing poetry. Travel is a big part of her life, and she loves to explore her multicultural experiences within her work. Every aspect of her work as a writer and an artist is driven by a desire to both create space for others, and likewise honor her personal life experience. Above all else, she is a lover of boba :)
