It was small and soft, just fit
my hand.  I stroked its head,
hard beneath my fingers,
and its fluffy back and sides,
a flickered tan with a yellow
belly.  I could talk to it,
smooth its feathers.
It was mine alone.  No one
need know.  I could put it
in my top drawer along
with my panties.  But then
they said it would smell.
I couldn’t keep it.  Back
it went under the bushes
where I found it.