Let it be okay that it took me a while to get here
If not better then equally fine to be
the goldfinch who took weeks to even
notice the weirdly suckered perspex shape.
A phase of hover and flee
then shy balance on the lip,
choosing hollow still until
one moment is simply time
to scatter on landing,
twitching my gorgeous tiny
head at the amused woman
observing through glass:
I changed my life, and look at me now –
nigella seeds tumbling from my beak.
Anna Ruddock lives in Cambridge, but probably not for long. She submitted this poem in memory of her friend Liesbeth, with gratitude and love.