Swifter than swifts, the years fly,

time drifts
and shifts
passing dove-soft and eagle-fierce. Cry for

generations lost
mother gone, but sisters here,

my cygnets grown swan-regal; adoring and adored,

I’m fortunate
to have love, wisdom, goodness—

feather-winged treasures, these women,
the bird-goddess sings.

For dVerse, Sarah asks us to use the word swift in a quadrille. It is also International Women’s Day 2021. The theme this year is Choose to Challenge, so this is a small tribute to my mother, sisters, and daughters, who have all challenged life and norms in some way. Ingrid at Experiments in Fiction is doing an International Women’s Day Challenge.