I woke after four,
After dreaming I saw you
Fall high and slow from a tree.
I was above you
(We had climbed together)
And I watched you plunge,
Silent and swift -
Without catching the branch
That might have stopped you.
You tried to get up, a stunned,
Pained expression on your little face.
I hastened to move,
My foot stuck in a nook.
'I am coming! Keep still!' in my throat
To shout, but it strangled
In my mouth and I couldn't call
Reassurance past my terror gag.
Horrified and instantly awake,
Snapped back to reliving the unreal
On repeat and in torturing slow motion.
Fear and a full bladder roused me:
Such relief to see you nestling and snug
As I went to the bathroom.
The dawn chorus was loud, gloaming and resonant,
As if each bird had a miniature megaphone
The new day air made.
Gratitude fills me, though I will be tired all day.
I am not gagged and stuck up a tree
And you are not struggling to get up on legs that don't work.
And the blackbird in our garden, that you love
And have claimed as yours,
Is singing to me of your safety
And of each hair on your head.
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