free; as a bird

we are sitting under the bleachers
the air is still and suffocating
trying to break the silence i ask,
'If you could be any animal what would you be?"

She looks at me, one eyebrow up
....
"I guess a bird, it would be nice to fly"
...
"haha yeah me too"

but the truth is,
the honest truth;

i too wish i only spoke in song,
with every word out of this mouth,
made beautiful in an instant,

i wish myself a crow;
a creature of all cackle and sharp edge,
nothing but party trick and nightmares.

some days i wish myself a swallow;
flirting with being a dead thing,
but never quite hitting the ground.

but i always wish myself a bird;
a delicate pretty thing,
i am screaming at the top of my lungs,
and everyone is paying attention.

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