a little bird, no longer flying
a little bird, no longer flying.
hello beautiful earthlings, here is a little *un-professional* poem I wrote about a little bird, that no longer lives. It sounds like a small deal, but once you experience something similar yourself, you will realize just how destroying it could be; to you, to the little bird, and the countless other animals that have lost their lives because of us.
I killed a bird.
We killed a bird.
The car killed the bird.
It once beat its ink blue wings,
waiting for an opportunity to fly,
to soar into the bright vast sky,
chirping in the morning sun,
dancing for a mate.
It waited,
waited,
and waited,
to fly.
As it summons its courage,
briefly landing on the cold city pavement,
it takes off,
wings quivering,
it no longer waits,
it is ready to fly.
Then,
a bright flash of light,
a second too late,
the bird,
will no longer fly.
It flops on the ground.
Lifeless,
no heartbeat,
no fluttering of wings,
no more rosy morning clouds,
no more dancing,
no more,
no more.
Continued below
I always, always have loved animals. I enjoy the meeting of noses as they nuzzle me, I enjoy their soft calm presence, and their big bright eyes. They cannot understand my language, I cannot understand theirs, yet we understand each other, so profoundly.
They understand that the world is a vast mysterious presence that we may never truly understand. They know how much warmth, how much comfort a beam of sunlight can give, and they understand how beautiful the quiet nights and mornings are when their only company is the sun and the moon. They understand.
Yet, I’ve never truly and deeply cared for them. At least, I haven’t done all I can do. (It’s quite a brutal truth, but sometimes they are better said out loud.) I’m always trying to encourage others, telling them to eat less meat, protect the beings of earth, and yet, I don’t even care.
I used to, I want to, but I can’t and I don’t know how. (You can see my previous post on this topic: https://www.zerowastelove.org/blog/how-one-loses-passion)
But today, I understand.
I care.
The little bird had so much waiting for her (I find female presences more lovely). She could have had so much more mornings where she could effortlessly wander and fly, she had so much more, so much more in front of her.
I (Okay, maybe not me personally, but my family and I did) took her life away from her.
This sounds selfish, I know I take away the lives of hundreds of animals each day, with my hamburgers, hot dogs, stir fry noodles, and pizza. (I don’t want to make it sound as if I eat all these every single day, it is the once in a while meals.) Yet I didn’t care until now.
I will stop making animals sacrifice their freedom of life, their mornings and nights, their careless wandering for just a meal, just a few meals that only make me feel good. I will not.
Animals are living. They have emotions. They have lives.
Just like that little bird.
She must have had a loving family.
I’m sorry, little bird.
I might not give that little bird her life back, but I hope through my actions, her soul will receive a tiny ounce of comfort.
The comfort in the fact that I am trying to save the lives of other animals.
Maybe, you could also give her some comfort, through your own actions?