NAPOWRIMO EARLY BIRD PROMPT 1 , BIRD

The Common Kingfisher

When, oh when will these doors and windows be flung open?
I sit and listen, but alas, cannot breathe,
but I see,
yes, I see with eyes that once were blinded.
Yes, blinded to the beauty all around.

 There you sit on the telephone wire,
 you Common kingfisher of the uncommon patrician poise.
Your shrill whistle of a call rises above the early morning noise,
drowning the cheerful contralto cadences of the spunky sparrows
and the harsh cawing of canny crows.

    
I remember I had seen you once in a bird sanctuary,
 and had been absolutely riveted,
as you hovered over your prey above the lake.
Then with a whoosh and a swish,
down you swooped and caught the fish!
 The talkative naturalist had rambled on,
“Pied, common, white- throated, belted -
these are the varieties of the kingfisher …..”

Now Common Kingfisher of the uncommon poise
you sit on the telephone wire,
wondering what happened to the intrusive presence of humans-
 the prying, noisy humans.

   
You know, we   the incarcerated, we the caged,
 watch your flamboyant colors
from inside the four walls of our house,
enraged at the loss of the bright hues of freedom.

Tears streaming down my face,
 I, a caged bird, hear, Joan Baez singing
Hello in there for John Prine,
 the hugely loved singer- songwriter,
battling the dreaded virus along with his wife.

 Then shaking myself free of the tears, look out,
 feasting my eyes on your flamboyant colours
and your untethered existence,
wondering when I will reclaim my lost notes
 of freedom.

 When, oh when will these doors and windows be flung open?
I sit and listen, but alas, cannot breathe,
but I see,
yes, I see with eyes that once were blinded.
Yes, blinded to the beauty all around.