The Little Bird Poem by Jim Yerman

We heard the little bird before we saw her…
as hand in hand we walked along
for it made us stop and listen
when the tree exhaled her song.

"She is so beautiful." I whispered,
"and her song is so divine,
I wish that I could capture her…
I wish that she was mine."

I would keep her in my bedroom.
She wouldn't have to live within a tree.
I would feed her, clean her…love her…
and she would only sing for me."

"Yes, you could take the little bird home." Mom smiled
"You could care for her…give her a name,
but no matter how often she sang for you
her song wouldn't sound the same."

"What makes her song so beautiful
is how the sun peeks through the tree.
it's the morning dew..the clouds, the breeze we feel
and the fact that she is free."

"In your room she would only sing for you
but unless she is a part
of the sky, the trees, the clouds, the wind…
her song can't touch your heart."

I have thought about that moment often
and the importance of being free
for everyone's hearts deserves to sing…
like that little bird…and me.