Flightless Child

Enduring the endless night of its mother's near fatal labor,
it entered the world born breach, compromised, and
incapacitated by its unfound breath. Upon first sight,
the mortified mother limply lifted her cordless offspring
and caressed it to her breast. Despairingly she searched
for signs of warmth from its hard, vessel-like chest. But,
her first attempts were unsuccessful. Defeated, she gazed
into a vacant space which held no answers as to why her
newborn had been delivered to this earth in such a ghastly
disguise; taking form as a winged cocoon, a half deformed
butterfly. It was a sight to behold, this mother and child,
unlike any Da Vinci could ever fathom or recognize. But,
before her despair could fully set in, she suddenly felt the
beating of its heart from an untraceable place from within.
And thus, she began to feel strings tugging tightly to her
like a maternal vice. Although it was completely expressionless,
she discovered that this innocuous little creature had perfect
poise and a willingness to please, as it exuded intermittent
sensations of love and compassion; much like the savored
whiff of a newly uncorked fine wine. And as useless as this
moth-like torso would be in life: limb-less, blind and speechless,
with no ability to take flight; it symbolized a fortress, a
compensation for flightless dreams. And like the ugly child
only a mother could love, she loved hers just the same,
and made peace with all the rest.