blue jay, caged
it’s feathers, shed
I see she no longer beats around for the key
she no longer sings
cage bars grown dull and sullen
so has she

I am there when she cries at night
I see tears that glisten brighter than stars
oh, she hopes her sons and daughters well
she prays to heaven above and below ground
but who can tell?

for now my voice still sings
my wings strong, my feathers full
I get to see the sun whenever I like
wishing I could bring back to her
a color, a speck of light, anything
– she declines

she must think me a fool
for I sit on the window sill, uncaged
she must think me mad
to stay there with her, to not escape
she must think me stubborn
not to fly away… away… away…

I long to hear her sing again
to tell her ‘blue jay, blue jay, you’re free”
but I can only watch in tears
because not within me lay the keys