vertigo

when I used to be the one
                              who moved around

 I liked birds but didn’t notice them

                   the sparrows with their rickety hops
                  on train station platforms

                   the surprise of wings in airport halls
                  as if held by sky

                   the crowd of gulls under the bridge
                  enjoying the softened afternoon sun

 they seemed stationary to me

                   inhabitants briefly glimpsed
                                                      while I moved on

 now my garden is a waystation

                   and the birds are my guests

                  the twin magpies and the self-important
                  pigeons and—when I finally

 travelled again—

             there were swallows         everywhere

                         giddy with speed

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Martine van Bijlert is a poet, novelist and non-fiction writer. Her poetry has just started appearing in places like kerning, Otis Nebula, Hole in the Head Review, Olney Magazine, Pangyrus Lit Mag, The Dewdrop, Right Hand Pointing, and Consequence.