Like clusters of starlings or
synchronized swimmers,
the dark suits expanded & contracted—
floating in the humid,
airless atmosphere.

I found myself wanting not what I wanted,
but what I was supposed to want right then,
& wanting what, at that time,
was wrong for me to have.

We were here to do great work,
inspire someone else to,
or birth one who would.
Rarely, did one accomplish all 3,
but if we completed but one,
our life had purpose.

Mother had the dark beauty of Odile,
yet the pure heart of Odette.
She was like Irena in Cat People–
all the way till the dark overcame her.

As children,
Caitlin had always wanted to be the hider,
I, the seeker;
yet now, grown, I sought to hide from God,
even as she sought Him out.