Taking barefoot steps on shattered glass

Motion bites into her sole and soul

Wanting nothing more than warm soft grass

No way to move forward and be whole

Silent tears become lost in the rain

Gathering strength she looks to the sky

Searching for something to ease the pain

A wind torn crow catches her eye

Dark shadow closes in on the bird

A looming threat from high up above

Waves of pity grow, without a word

She reaches down for glass, bare hand, no glove

Despite the cuts, she hurls the glass high

Hitting the eagle bent on his prey

"Leave her alone!", she yells at the sky

Smiling as the black bird gets away

The aches return as the bird flies on

Not expecting to see it again

Yet feeling joy in the cold wet dawn

Knowing that not all efforts were in vain

Waiting to die in the broken glass

Ears hearken the soft flutter of wings

Clever crow dropping straw, reed, and grass

She will know what to do with these things

And so she wove a pair of sandals

Making motion possible again

The crow gave her a way to handle

The long trek across a cutting plain

Collapsing as she reached the soft warm grass

Exhaustion forced her into long sleep

She woke to see a raven haired lass

With soulful sad eyes about to weep

In compassion she reached for the girl

As she did the specter disappeared

In her hand was a lock of black curls

Was it only a dream as she feared?

Looking again at the hair she held

She watched it turn into a feather

It had been real, a foe had been felled

And the trek had brought them together