Day 254

There was a bird whose feet
were caught in the wires,
and a group of people who came
to save him.  It seemed important;
so many were dying, hundreds
in only a matter of hours.  One
started to climb a utility pole.  Another
boosted him up til he found a foothold.
Others held blankets to catch the bird
if he were injured and couldn’t
fly. Still others — a lot
of them, kids — stood by
and cheered.  Every step
nearer the bird drew louder
cheers, until the man
who was climbing had reached
the top.  The wires
were live with current; the climber
cautious, not knowing
whether the next touch would bring
shock, even death.  And the bird
crying out in pain, in fear.  The crowd
crying out.  At last the climber
grasped the trapped foot, held it
between his fingers, pulled the wire
back with his other hand, and the bird
took off into the sky
as though this had been simply
a small event.  The climber
climbed down, swarmed
by the crowd.  Let it be known,
one young man said, stepping up
onto a wooden box that was
somehow there, that on this day
there occurred a liberation!
Bombs, drones in the background.
The bird flying far, far, beyond
where anyone could see.