not about …(voiced)

this poem is not about painting glass,
a slide of ghostlines focus into silhouette
bird captured in bright colour swirl

“this is going nowhere,” she thinks
an echo of a someone else, transparent

maybe her

before another coughs and says
“you’re painting in fresh blood?”

maybe hers

so here they are, those shadow voices
at the door with starling confirmation
of a cut lawn, fuschia dripping

luscious pink on sunburst daisy chains
knowing that a link has burned, up and out;
this poem is not about how freedom works.

————

The Wild Challenge (in brief):
Write a poem using the techniques of reversal and denial. Begin your poem with the words “This poem is not about . . . then go on to write the poem. Occasionally come back to the statement: “This poem is not about . . .”