She had a thing for birds
Molded out of clay
Woven with yarn
Embroidered on her clothes
She did that with the Aloha Airlines jumpsuit
One I wore as a baggage handler
That I gave her because she asked me for it
And brilliant seamstress
She unstitched the legs
And reconfigured them into a skirt
On this dark blue palette she sewed
Many birds of different colors
And diverse personalities
Covering every inch of fabric
With a menagerie of her feathered friends
I wanted her birds but gladly accepted
Two batik shirts, one blue, one brown
With fabulous abstract designs of crazy mazes
Before she was the first to fly away
Then it was my turn
I wore those shirts in Madison
Although the fabric was Aloha-shirt thin
Through harsh Midwest winters
Until they fell apart on me
But I kept the Mickey Mouse buttons she’d used
Eventually flew them home to Hawai‘i
But over the years lost them somehow
Just as I’d lost her
Lanning Lee 