Fairy Ring

[Am I foolish]
drawn down sidewalks under amber shade
by Kousa dogwood glowing,
a flowering lantern leading
me off of State street,
[or am I free]
to slip into a world where true names are not given
and every promise is a negotiation
behind the veil of early June.
drowning on rain-thick mist
[I see the snare clearly,]
two black-capped chickadees,
fledglings fallen, thin-winged blurring,
mouths split with joy
beneath ultraviolet clouds,
tucked into the wild strawberries.
[I know my fate,]
it can only be the space between pages
in a book written by Pan, or Puck,
telling the tale of a girl
who knelt to hold the birds,
small and warm as hearth embers,
who was not lost
[but fell in willingly.]