1976

according to legend, the tropical parrots escape and start their own colony in vondelpark though some accounts say they were set free

the version of liberation is perpetuated by the hippies, the ones who started the movement that set san fran ’68 in motion

but don’t call them parrots to people outside of amsterdam because they are actually rose-ringed parakeets

the romantics among us like to say they are monogamous though this author has not verified these claims through a second source

implying that two lovebirds escaped and built an empire

it is also said these birds can mimic the human voice much like the jackalope of the wyoming high desert; they can hear a word once and sing it back it the same intonation

2016

a cowgirl sits in a’dam wishing for a friend

back in the old days, the wild west days, where she was born

the jackalopes would answer her cries of loneliness with the same sad phrases and she was comforted, reassured of her connection to this world

this calamity rose sits on a balcony 3000 miles from her home and hears birds echoing her lamentations

chartreuse wings against the azure sky

not belonging but there nonetheless

what is mythology?  what is reality?  does it matter?

histories intermingle and the book is written by the victor

whether i am a tyrant or an angel

a mata hari level liar or anne frank in my purity

i won

i write the books that define an age

 perceptions of what is important here and now