Flying Jewels

To fly,
to forever move,
was always your calling,
dear friend.

You were never meant
to be kept inside walls,
inside cages or traps,
you couldn’t face it.

Flapping wings,
beautiful things,
moving in and out
of our human vision.

Flashes of green, red,
residing in the smallest
of feathers,
fluttering here and there.

We watched you,
three pairs of eyes
following your movement,
following your beating strokes.

Your wings,
rowing your body
through the stiff, warm air,
back and forth, back and forth.

I risked my life,
stood high for you,
your beautiful example
of perfection.

Yet, your three
hopeful saviors
drifted,
and left you.

We left
to our lives,
facing our own traps,
our own problems.

Unable to help,
we hoped
you would somehow
escape.

We were wrong
we found, us three,
when you lay there,
unable to move.

One life, we said,
just one fragile life,
compared to so many
countless others.

We wanted
to let you go,
but you were special,
somebody to remember.

Dear bird,
our kind in heart,
live strong
wherever you may be.

May we
never forget
our lives break
just as simply.