Wild and Winged

If you go down to the woods today
You’re in for a big surprise.
If you go down to the woods today
You’ll never believe your eyes.
For deep within those wintry woods,
The wild winged women wait.
They glide and sing on gauzy wings,
They dance on air
With feathered things,
They run with beasts.

And if you stray from your usual way
And wander off the path,
They’ll shadow you through barren trees,
They’ll watch you shake, they’ll hear you breathe,
They’ll catch your scent, your truest nature.
And if you have a feral soul and thunder in your heart,
And if you have a yearning fiercely burning in your flesh,
They’ll let you see their wildling eyes, like lightning in a glass.
They’ll lead you deep into their lair,
They’ll tease and tangle your straightened hair,
They’ll rip your clothes and leave you bare,
Then scar your skin with broken bark and drag you through the mud.
And though you’ll scream and try to flee as they plunge you into icy depths,
You’ll feel a strange awakening,
You’ll feel your breathing start to change.
You’ll surface to the sound of drums
That beat beneath your bones.

And as you step from that sacred stream
You’ll glimpse your new reflection.
You’ll gasp at the lightning in your eyes,
You’ll sigh at the sight of filmy wings
And shiver as they graze your shoulders.
And as the night falls though the trees
You’ll bathe with your clan in lunar light
And deep within those wintry woods
You’ll take your flight.
You’ll glide and sing on gauzy wings,
You’ll dance on air
With feathered things,
You’ll run with beasts.

And in the distant, silent town,
They’ll hear a rumbling underground,
An echo on the wind.
And many stories they will tell
About the girl they knew so well,
Who strayed too far and turned into
A woman wild and winged.