Mamma found him in his cage while I was away
At Jordan Ray’s
Talons up, feathers flat

.

Dearest neglect of Joey the bird
Lived in a pink cage,
Grew bright green feathers with a light blue spot on his shoulder.
Sister bought him at a mall cart,
Saved him, it seemed,
But now it’s clear that his fate was condemned
A live heart beat quick in hollow bones

.

From Jordan’s I rushed,
Hurried to confirm the news of my mother’s text:
“Joey died. You need to come home and clean your room”
Warm hearts beat cold in the blaze of August morning

Mamma, I found, she put him in the trash
Like a piece of pie with one bite taken
I found him lain upon heaps of pear peelings
Doomed in line to decompose
Among the **** and waste of the world

I picked him up

Placed him into a small shoe box

“Come on, Joey bird, lay in here”

It’s warm and dry and safe

Joey lay there, patient and dead
I took him in the yard
Out of the room he’d been in
Since sister brought him home

I found him a tree to chirp in, great oak

I placed his box on the grass and dug
Dug
Dug until I went beneath some roots
…
Kept digging
Unearthing pebbles and insect homes
Disheveling years of dirt and order

.

The heat of the day was boiling on my swelling soul
How could mother throw him in the trash?
Was he not alive; a thing? As much a miracle as you or me?
And my sister, his keeper, was not there to witness

Finally joey fit right
Fit just where he needed to be
The base of a great oak tree

Whose roots would **** him in
Like the lump in my heart did
With every scoop of soil
Like the love missed in life that joey died without

.

That was the first day I hated my mother
That was the first time I missed my sister
That was the only life I’ve ever mourned