The flagging bird in cage
Smothered sea in stillness of my heart
Freedom is heaven they crave!

I found her near a large Oak in the woods,
Not far from where that old cabin stood,
She was sputtering blood and not far from death,
I hadn't much water, but I gave her what was left,
Her eyes so weary and the purest black,
I felt heartless and wondered what her attacked,
Her wounds malicious and so very deep,
Yet she didn't convulse or even weep,
The Sun was almost rising then,
I wondered what compelled such men,
She had been, the passed night, all alone,
I knew all she wanted was Home,
And slowly her eyes went right to mine,
At that moment, I knew inside,
I watched every ounce pass from this life,
I sat there, pathetic, wondering if I could cry,
I heard her last painful and drowning breath,
She heard, like a gavel, my passing steps.

i started a collection inside of my ribcage
of birds that tickled me pink and red and
eventually blue. i lost enough blood to call
it a suicide from withholding harmless
animals so tightly in a confined space that
there was only one way out. after that mishap,
i started growing flowers and writing endless
metaphors about you, describing how you
make the stars dim out in embarrassment of
itself and how benign your disposition was.
you wonder why i watched the flowers wilt
and why i wanted the stars to ultimately turn
the sky into a deep asphalt color. you wonder
why i couldn't breathe when i tried my hardest
to be on your good side whenever you were at
the top of the food chain and i was below you.
looking at you made me see why i forgot to
take care of myself, because all of my focus
was trying to connect the dots of our friendship
and bring peace between us again. my words,
shaped into metaphors, turned into dust after
i burned every evidence of you. i am tired of
waking up in a hospital after a failed attempt
to completely forget you for good.

There you were, out on the dance floor.
I had not laid eyes on you in months.
You've grown, become something magnificent,
A budding young woman.
I can see a glow, a personal awareness,
That was never there before.

You have gained a level of self-confidence.
It radiates off you, and you have no clue.
You are beautiful, self-assured.

And you are happy.
It's everything I could have hoped for you.
You are happy.
He makes you happy.
You are content with life.
I am happy for you. It's true.

You try to initiate a hello, and I say hi.
How are you? I'm doing fine.
Forcing myself to keep you at arms length.
I can't look at you for fear
That you might read the lie.

But I am happy for you.
You deserve nothing less than what you've gained.
You don't need me in your life.