Flight Poem by Yiling Ding

The birds around me
are relishing in their freedom.
They are joyous
in their free light
and their unfettered wings.
Carefree,
they flitter from nest to nest,
granting eggs where they wish.

But I,
I alone wish to be
chained in a cage,
and held firmly
in warm hands,
for I have been cold
and lonely
for too long.

My wings are wretched now
from an endless flight.
Solitude has all but robbed
my skill to sing.
Before I am lost entirely
in a joyless sky,
please capture me
with binding,
blinding,
all-embracing
love.