orphans of meadowgrass

I want for her

a heart

that will never

be cursed,

shoeless feet

to walk the earth

beyond the wall

       (the boys who guard the gate
are so easily swayed)

outside her village,

she will learn

to sing her

own lullabies

    
(but that won't be the hardest part)
she will realize that she

has forgotten her mother's

voice, and she will not

recognize her mother

tongue.  She will wander

until she finds the well

in a land where she doesn't

know the rules.

      (except this one, which never changes -- animals always move toward water)

they may worship

the organs

of stoats

or have

no vowels

in their alphabet

or maybe even

not have

a word

for heart