I just saw a canary land
on a barbed wire fence

May have mistaken it for
brambles, or blackthorns

An alien domain, after an
entire lifetime in captivity

Suddenly, it flew upwards,
away to a barcoded window

Perched on your sill, I thought,
they have a mutual understanding.



Ryan O'Leary
The Proscribed Poet



Poem composed today at
the gates of Vassa prison
in Finland, perhaps I used
a bird as my metaphor just
to convey the fragility and
fickleness of our freedoms.
One might wish to analyze
it in more depth or enquire
if indeed the canary sought
safety from a liberty it was
unaccustomed to and not
yet capable of managing.
Could it be that the canary
was a refugee in need of a
a safe haven and albeit it be
back in a cage, it was at least
shared with and cellmate who
had empathy and understanding.


I leave it with you to peruse
and deduce what the author
was feeling and to whom and
where was he referring to.