Empathy for Fledgling Warblers
(for Sister Maya)
Yes, the day is dawning
with sun and subtle currents
calling
calling to these restless wings.
Still we cling tightly to the perch.
This cage is secure.
Its ribs’ embrace
reassuring.
This heart that beats and flutters
like a fledgling bird
yearning for release could be
set free to soar in song
if only we could find the key.
But we line our cages
with the gravity of matters
with all the news that’s fit
to splatter with litter
when it and spirits hit bottom.
No use denying the blues
when you’ve got ‘em.
No way around
the dues to be paid.
You want to fly
but flight’s been delayed.
For now there’s a barricade
and bars define the changes played
for any would-be bird of note
But the caged bird knows
(and here’s the trick)
that just as from the blues
can come a good blues lick
it’s the space between bars
you fill with music.
– Khephra Burns
Copyright © 2019 by Khephra Burns
Khephra Burns is an author, editor, playwright, poet and veteran of television, stage and live events productions. He is a partner and executive with the International ArtsGames Committee (IAC) and senior producer for the ArtsGames. He’s also editor-in-chief of The Boulé Journal of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.