Like a Gyrfalcon in the Desert, I Was Raised To Be Useless by Majda Gama
Like a Gyrfalcon in the Desert, I Was Raised To Be Useless
Majda GamaMy grandmother wore white, the color of mourning,
All my life she made this no-color tangible.She told my father to give me everything & more:
If she asks for a horse you must give her a horse.In the morning light an Arctic native flies to its trainer
from a mount, across the sand to a reward of dead meat.Its black tracking antenna is clipped to white feathers,
It must not feel the weight of the all-blue sky, but I do.It kicks its claws in the sand, shouts out falcon sounds.
On the gauntlet it won’t meet the eyes of anyoneStanding closely. Such beauty is hard to look at.
The danger of being visible both day and at night.
KEEP READING
SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in Memorius , Issue 33, 2023.
ABOUT MAJDA GAMA
Majda Gama is a poet from Jeddah, KSA, and the United States, with many homes in-between. She has poetry forthcoming in Ploughshares. (Source)
Read more poems by Majda Gama • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Follow on Instagram • Bluesky • Website • Or view my library
ENDNOTES
- Explore other works in pursuit of: training • power • visibility • Or browse the index
- If this work resonates with you, please consider supporting the archive. Thank you for reading.
