Elishiya Beck Flitting Wings

[Flitting Wings]

Elishiya Beck

To those who walk the wintry winds On fleet of wing, the sun rescinds And gives way to torrential rain And lest our lives begin again

To those aloft before the rays Biding ‘till the ends of days When from their roost, there comes a storm Relinquished from the dogged warm

To those inlaid with threadbare fleece In a brilliant masterpiece Who beat their beauty up above In a desperate cry for love

To those who rest in kennel-beds And silently anoint their heads As denizens both great and small Ascend the steps before the fall

To those enclosed in iron bars Staring down the passing cars Yearning, striving to be free Deprived of natural harmony

To those who surf on seas of clouds In writhing, twisting, tumbling crowds That ebb and flow, as you should know To find a refuge down below

To those who stalk the weary skies Leering with voracious eyes Before, alas the time is come When that who yearns is rendered numb

To those who strut a model’s walk Bleating strong a boisterous talk Their scaly legs a serpent’s skin Allow the summer to begin

So here’s to flitting, feathery wings To those who cry, to those who sing Who hunt alone, or strong in herds Oh, the lessons we learn from the birds