A Bird In My Study

You see, it could happen every day:
a bird trapped in my study,
flying without hope into the bookshelves,
crashing its bird-body against the wall.
It could. It happened today, Amber carried
this bird in her mouth into my room.
Now she is chasing it, knocking books from shelves
and creating chaos and fear. The bird flies in panic
when I try to catch it to release it
through the open window. You see, it could happen:
the predatory cat, the bird's wild fear,
books falling, an open window
leading out to freedom, flight, the natural
way it should be—this could happen, any day.

Copyright by Carolyn Zonailo: www.carolynzonailo.com, 2004