Close to the woody glade
Hidden in the leafy shade
A smart robin built a nest
Like a cozy little chest

With twigs and leaves, it was made
Within it, four eggs she laid
She sat long brooding in her nest
Indeed it was a tedious test
      
      One by one, the eggs were hatched
And four tiny birds that closely matched
Came out breaking the freckled shell
Making the Mother bird’s happiness swell

The mama enjoyed their sweet company
To her, boredom no more came to annoy
The nest rang with a chorus of song
It was made vibrant with a happy throng

      The parent birds fed them taking turns
As they grew, for the sky they began to yearn
At times the fledglings stuck out their heads
Longing to leave their craggy beds

They found the sky blue and clear
Still they were under the clutches of fear
But they knew, outside lay true liberty
Before them stretched infinity

No more did they hesitate
Their mama’s movements they did imitate
They splayed and spread their wings
And into the sky, took off with steady beatings!

I sit alone in room 207
Solitude yields to the white coat, red lipstick: A clown
Who grabs me and smirks raising the needle
Driving it into my arm, leaving me swimming through space
In an empty room. No color, No nothing
It starts to happen again

A spinning teacup going around and around and around till I am nauseous
Pleading for it to stop. I try to get off, but the door is locked
No one understands, how could they? I am on the ride all-alone
And the calliope music is crushing me

Reeling dizzy down the empty strip
I stumble into the house of glass, my image changing with every step
A kaleidoscope of faces presses in,
Elephants ivory tusks hover above, startled by the lions echoing roar,
I fall back on to the screeching monkeys cage.
A rich scent of funnel cakes press onto me
My tongue pink, blue and gritty from the cotton candy

The calliope music grinds, off key

I am the popcorn kettle, the kernels, popping, popping, popping,
I can’t take it; it is getting hot, its burning, the smoke fills the airs

It fills my nose, and the smells are gone
Everything is white. Not cloud white, hospital white
The Caliope draws its final breath,
I sit alone in room 207