canvas

come dusk, you cross stitch your words 
into canvas, musing if gold threads 
can appear from air.  you marvel 
at frayed hues of butterfly, black wings
of crows, perched on street lines- 
you wait as moon grazes the night sky

imagine- sketching your face in sky
with bonsai trees & feathers, words
buzzing in your ears, squiggly lines
twirling in sand dunes, what threads
can capture, hold this  - your wings
are edging you to unknown - a marvel

of stars & beyond, a marvel
of abyss, uncharted dark sky
you capture what you see, wings
clipped, broken, then free as words
you don't need a map to spool threads
what you need is space, no lines

as you paint on walls, out of lines
where boats tug wispy clouds, a marvel
to catch on shorelines without threads -
now, you are running breathless, sky
is grey, with need to plump out words
bigger than your canvas, your wings

wandering bring me hope, my wings
one day, will unfurl, wriggle past lines
of square boxes, marry words
with panache and spice, I'll marvel
at tiny beetles under sky-
all the hands that nurture, pulling threads

apart, until threads become lines
inking wings and forests, a marvel
to see -sky of birds, my body of words




Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Sestina, Poetry Form, hosted by Victoria Slotto.   This is a my first work-in-progress sestina, so any feedback is appreciated.   This follows the pattern:

1. A,B,C,D,E,F
2. F,A,E,B,D,C
3. C,F,D,A,B,E
4. E,C,B,F,A,D
5. D,E,A,C,F,B
6. B,D,F, E,C,A
7. BE, DC, FA (The envoi of three lines with BDF midline and ECA as the end lines.) Note: The Poetry Foundation gives this variation on the envoi: FB, AD, EC. Use either one.