In the dream
There's a pain in the heart of my chest.
A terrible tearing.
I lift my shirt and look:
Pressed tightly over my heart just under my skin is a sparrow.
Clawing and clawing to get out.
I use my fingers and scratch from the other side.
My skin tears open.
A flock of sparrows releasing into the air as I begin to weep.
It is beautiful. Painful. And alive with love.