Louise Glück, "Parable of Flight"

Parable of FlightA flock of birds leaving the side of the mountain.Black against the spring evening, bronze in early summer,rising over blank lake water.Why is the young man disturbed suddenly,his attention slipping from his companion?His heart is no longer wholly divided; he's trying to thinkhow to say this compassionately.Now we hear the voices of others, moving through the librarytoward the