Camille

She was

When she was home
she was a swan
when she was out she was a tiger
and a tiger in the wild is not tied to anyone

when she was lost
she was a toad
the day I found her on the road
I gave her water and a rose
and as she stretched
the sun rose

go
go
go away

when she was young
she was a cow
and all day long
she milked the stars
she taught me
women to survive
must be unfaithful to their child
of all the wonders of the world
she was a lady with a bird
she must have had so many lives
was it the first?
was it the last?

go
go
go away

when she was ill
she was a whale
she was so patient she would wait
until I sang her by the lane
the sweetest tunes to ease her pain

when she was old
she was an owl
I saw her swaying in the sky
and when she died inside my arms
I realised she was a cat

Go
Go
go away

sometimes I wonder
if my child
will have her eyes

to see through me

and when I die
and I am born again
what will I be
a cat?
a stone?
a tree?