Posted: Sep 30, 08 9:05am

Changeling

When she kicked me down, my darling Jersey--

Cow of soft brown eyes and slobbery muzzle-- she

Cut gouges into my thighs with her hard, dark hooves.

I was not a milkmaid. I had not yet met the reindeer

Or the fox. Mama's singing lulled me to dreaming.

A hunting song. I was not a milkmaid.

I was fox, rust red, and I caught the rooster

In my mouth. I ran the hills and rocks. I lived in

Danger for my life. I knew how to disappear,

How to run for my life. And I learned how to kill.

Like King Lear, a turkey came in, all strut and white

Feathers. Kept me from my pony. Yellow malice eyes.

I beat it with a broom, winning my warrior name.

Pony, pony. Strong legs and thick mane. Dappled love.

Horse of war. I was a mare and he loved my lovely neck.

We grazed. My life was green. My legs were long and I

Wrapped his ribs like a lover. Feathers in my hair.

It was summer all the time. I wore my skin animal brown.

How was I to be a girl?

I was not my mother's pet bird.

I had none of her racetrack curves.

I lived in a room outside her world.

She never knew who her daughter was.