Over the centuries cracks would appear in the

wings of the great birds, which the stonecutters

would repair invisibly so that bells could ring

when those pale albatrosses were returned

to the curtain wall, ringing their long migration

from northern waters to the south and back

the way heaven stretches over the entire globe

and a reminder that none can long stand idle

so as the people swelled and diminished as age

followed age, the birds gladdened many hearts

for even the ones without sight could touch the lowest

of these to admire its razor-sharp feathers and beak

and know that in this world of deep disappointments

some have still made marvels like these nine.