A Gentle Warning
When, as a child, we had a visit from an angel
my skin rippled into a silver shade of cold.
She signalled her visit by dropping a young pigeon feather
on the pavement that walked us home.
I didn’t know what it meant but mum explained
and we followed the angel across the water.
The angel didn’t walk on it, like you might have thought she would, instead
she removed her dress of skin and immersed herself, shoulder-deep, into the lake.
Mum lowered herself in too and her short curls took the form of stars
because it was not a lake but the night sky, of course.
They giggled like two women skinny-dipping for the first time
and I laughed too but I didn’t follow and they didn’t beckon.
Then, the door shut behind us and we were home, as if nothing had happened at all.
Mum kissed both my cheeks, as she did every bedtime and we forgot all about it.
Years later, I would see that feather on the path again
but it would be too late to remember and I would wish that I could dive into the sky after her.
Georgina is a poet, facilitator, and singer-songwriter with individual poems published online and in-print. She has performed in prestigious venues across the UK with various collectives and has an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. You can find her on Instagram @georgienorie, and on Facebook @georginanoriepoetry.