Dancing Bird

He saw me dance on a makeshift stage
Of wildflowers and long grass sweet,
In a summer dress and callused bare feet -
So he brought me home in a golden cage.

I did not mind, was content to stay,
For my eyes and ears were all aglow,
Bewitched by hands like Michelangelo -
Not even a thought then, of flying away.

Then the gilding on the bars began to lose its shine,
And in me smoldered a fever that ran deep -
As if waking from a hazy sleep,
I saw the truth of that prison of mine.

So I fled, half-recovered from his drug induced trance,
to find once again the freedom to dance.

-Siri Hammond 01/28/09