Bonjour, Oiseau!
Even as my life was leaching away
As sand was slipping through my fingers
As silence numbed my soul
For always
A bird landed on my shoulder.
‘Cheep cheep, cheep cheep . . .!’
He chirruped in my ear
As he fluttered and frolicked.
I did not understand.
But when one is lonely
A single word brings joy
And so I threw away my rosary
And I danced.
A bird is a thing of beauty
But, alas, a bird has wings
Which, just as they serve to alight,
So too they serve to take flight.
That is the tragedy of birds.