Brave bear

with the cold wind at your back,
the thin quiet.

The way you march through thick forest
and keep the song you sing
inside you

tucked away
like a locket.

it's the sound of one heart
opening

and what's inside.

Dragonfly

Your crossed wings like a star,
your bright glowing colours.
The way your body
is a spear,
and a rainbow.

Hummingbird

Listen to the hummingbird
flap its wings to float.
It leaves a hum you can hear
from yards away.

It’s the sound of one bird
moving,
of one bird
standing still.

crow

That something so unloved
can will itself
this much
to live.

grade 4

Puzzle pieces, instruments
in the coat room,
crumpled paper airplanes
and comic strips,
and plastic straws and stars
that could make a house
or a fort.

There was a moment. And then
we didn't even notice
the house
in pieces
on the floor.