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You took the secret
to the grave
but what you took
is less important
than what you left
behind:
A caged bird
wings flapping wildly
to escape
into the air
a fearful angry bird
with fading plumage
standing on its sad tiny perch
in solitude
like a question mark
waiting to be fed.
How did it feel
to tend it constantly?
What toll
did it take on you,
what did you make
of frightful chirps
at odd times
of day and night?
Did you buy
playthings
to while away
the hours, ropes
bells and rings?
I suppose you had
your reasons
your secret
has an afterlife.
2 comments:
I guess there are many secrets that we leave behind when we die. Some that keep on living after we are dead. Kind of eerie, kind of mysterious, but also kind of beautiful. I very much like the line "but what you took/is less important/than what you left/behind".
Are secrets left behind or questions? That’s what I’m getting at. Secrets have an afterlife, they turn into a new animal that the living are left to tend. Like when the body dies, the ghost that haunts our world.
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