Sunbird
The Phoenix
Writing: Β© Jennifer McBride 2025 (Paperfly)
Preview image: βDe vogel Phoenixβ by Cornelis Troost, c.1720. Oil on canvas. Public domain.
Main post image: by Friedrich Justin Bertuch, 1806. From βBilderbuch fΓΌr Kinderβ. Public domain.
I have done research: Jennifer McBride lives in a castle, in a room, walled with books, her learning surpasses all of the kingdom's, combined. She has been touched by the gossamar touch of the gods when they wish to touch lightly. She is Repunzel, no, wait, that is not what I meant not at all, she is Rumpelstiltskin. No that too is wrong. Surely there was a tale of a woman spinning gold while in a tower? If not, perhaps we have found her.
Beautiful and magical with undertones much darker than one typically expects for a poem about the Phoenix.