He Called Me a Bird

He called me a bird, so I flew into his arms.

He called me a butterfly, so I coloured his life. 

He called me a sunflower, so I followed his light.

He called me a storm, so I entered the bag.* 

He called me a wildfire, so I kept him warm.

He called me the sea, so I seduced the winds.**

He called me a bird, then trapped me in a cage.

He called me a butterfly, then framed me on his wall.

He called me a sunflower, then hid over the clouds. 

He called me a storm, then sought to control it.

He called me a wildfire, then made me drown.  

He called me the sea, then poisoned my waters. 

Everything he offered, he took away, and more.

Yet, as night fell, I looked into his eyes and whispered my love.

*Reference to Homer’s Odyssey, where Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag in which the unfavourable winds were confined.

**Reference to Luís de Camões’ Os Lusíadas, when the nymphs seduced the winds under Afrodite’s request, attempting to calm down the storm so the sailors could reach their destination.

Edited by Mariana Faísca