Thinking About Bluebirds

Thinking About Bluebirds

Some words flash like lightning
jarring awareness
and confusing thinking
with surprising strength.

For most of us in first grade
that word was bluebirds.
Our teacher taunted us with
“I’ll give you sundaes,
chocolate in big bowls,
not to think of bluebirds
for one minute…starting now.”
“Not fair!” we shouted,
stung with the meanness,
though Jack mumbled bumblebees
ten seconds for distraction.

Then as we grew slightly older
came ideas with so much power
we wouldn’t say the words
…although some did…
for they seemed to us
like small electric shocks.
Some mumbled their hyphenated
consonants and vowels
b-word, f-word, t-word, a-word
…and others…
for we were being schooled
in grown up animus
and understood somehow
the flashings of injustice
that for us began with bluebirds.

Bonnie Marshall