Copper wings

Whitened sheets
Pure like silk
Lie below an earthly angel
Her skin pale
Lips blue
Lashes form soft smiles
That never made it to her lips
The permanent stain of a blush
A sign of shyness
Now washed out and gone
Down slender neck and chest
All so still so quiet
Covered from chest to middle thigh
In a bandage dress
All a delicate white
And her feet
Encased in ribbon sandals
With a leather sole
Her arms raised as if posed
Waiting to call up to heaven
And instead of the false wings
Of plastic feathers and silver glitter
Now laying abandoned by the door
Behind her are wings of innocence
Not pure white or rich silver or devil’s black
But the red and pink of eternity
The red of life
The pink of innocence
You dip your fingers
And put them to your lips
It is not the taste of cotton candy
But the sharp tang of copper
Copper forms her childish wings