I saw a bird today.
Perched on my balcony,
His green feathers fluttered
In the humid September wind
While his gaze fixed on clouds
Tattered in tomorrow’s grey hues.
I peered closer through half-shut
Blinds to conceal myself as his
Own plumage disguised him
In the backdrop of a tree.
I’ve never seen this bird before.
Not here,
Not anywhere.
He was silent and still,
And how unusual I thought
For nature’s choir to be quiet.
Why do you not chirp, I asked,
As any happy bird would?
“I cannot sing alone,” he said
“You would not understand
The ballad I cry without a duet
To capture my highest highs
And resonate my lowest lows.”
Well why do you not dance, I queried,
As you surely should?
“My dance is a dance for two.
I need a partner to swing on
Invisible drafts, rhyming
My cadence lest I’ll forget
The steps and miss the count.”
So why do you not sing or dance
With all the other birds here, I begged?
Life is dull without passion
That floods the lungs
And ignites the limbs
To expression.

A pause.

“Simply, I cannot see them.
The red one melts in crimson dusk.
The blue one soars high in clear skies
And the yellow one wears the sun’s mask.
But the green one, I can see.
Only she can hear my muted cues
To bellow our loudest whistles
And only she can feel my subtle signals
To whirl beneath my wings.
I crave the same feather
Where words blend at the seams
And propel us through graying clouds
With our airwaves tortuously in sync
Leaving a duplex trail that intertwines.
So believe me, I am looking for her.
I’ve been searching for a long time.
But I think I’ve finally found the zephyr
She is riding, and I’ve traveled
A long way to be exactly here
Where our currents are bound to collide.”
I saw a bird for the first time today.