I had no mother,
no tribe. Swallows
heard me crying.
They gave me flight,
to feel the wind,
to find my spirit.
They gave me a mate
to birth our young
in ancient cliffs.
They gave me companions
for warmth
in winter’s cold.
Someday I will rise to the sun.
My feathers will gleam iridescent.
My home will be in cloud cliffs.
I will look down on Earth’s chaos
where my mother disappeared.
I will no longer miss her.
– Sarah Russell
First published in Ekphrastic Review
Based on a painting by Benjamin Chee Chee,
a Native American artist
For Poets United theme “Rising Up”
Sarah Russell Poetry 
What a beautiful poem this is. I specially love “someday i will rise to the sun.” Gorgeous writing.
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Thanks, Sherry. Chee Chee committed suicide at age 33. I tried to form an image of his quest.
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Beautiful.. there’s space and height and melancholy… wow!
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Thanks, Rajani. Chee Chee’s story is so tragic, and I thought this painting seemed to capture his longing.
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Bless, the Swallow Child! Affecting poem, Sarah.
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Thanks, Khaya.
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May you rise above your past, my friend. I loved how eloquent this was. Amazing.
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Fortunately, not my past, but the artist’s. Thanks for stopping by.
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So compelling! And what a tragic story.
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Thanks. I thought so too, Susan. I couldn’t separate Chee Chee’s life from this painting when I wrote the poem.
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wow the journey to rise above the grief Very poignant
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Thanks, Marja. I’m not sure he ever did rise above it even after he found his mother. A brilliant artist, but a tragic life.
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What lovely and eloquent interpretation of the artist’s work, Sarah. Absolutely glorious. (And thank you for introducing me to Ted Kooser. I’m SO enjoying his poetry).
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Thanks, Bev! And if you like Kooser’s poetry (he was U.S. poet laureate), he has a column every week called American Life in Poetry. You can subscribe and you’ll get a Kooser-esque poem from an American poet. He hand picks them. http://www.americanlifeinpoetry.org. Also, don’t miss his poem about his dog. One of my favorites. He says what a dog means in a household. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/143286/death-of-a-dog
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Oh Sarah this is absolutely glorious!! I love it!
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Thanks so much, Carrie.
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really pretty and goes perfectly with the visual –
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Thanks, Beth. Sometimes poems “happen.” I love it when they do that!
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I respect the speaker’s dream. In spite of sorrow he wants to rise to the sun. He has the spirit to rise above everything. Thanks for this touching poem Sarah.
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Thank you, Sumana.
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This interacts beautifully with the painting. (K)
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Thanks a lot, Kerfe.
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The day will not come, that I will not miss my Mother. But your write is beautiful!!!
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I don’t know what Benjamin found when he finally located his mother after a lifelong quest, but it must have been tragic. He committed suicide soon afterwards. You’re so lucky to have a mother that you miss every day. I wasn’t that fortunate.
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Whew, that last stanza packs a punch, leaves me breathless.
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Thanks, Mary. Chee Chee’s story was so tragic, and his mother was the central missing figure throughout his short life. I guess I was trying to get inside his head to understand his quest, his finding her, and then his suicide.
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