The height and health of freedom
is for a daisy to grow into a daisy
on land unblocked by concrete built for war,
its coronet of startled petals slim

and white appearing anywhere
under a sky that rests against this island
like a blue sail. The height and hope
of freedom is for a child to grow into a child

on unmined land, running down to the deep
unfrightening sea, heart and feet natural
companions to stone and sand and grass. The height
and hope of freedom is - though concrete walls

harden into memory's strange night -
a heart flying like this herring gull
silently swinging on air, absorbing light
into its feathers, defying gravity.