I saw a piebald baby fledgling
Fallen from the holly tree
It never made it to the wing
Chirping in the rain at me
I went outside to try to help
All day long to hear it meep
To see the deal the bird was dealt
I could not even get to sleep
The parents swooped like airborne actors
Diving at my hairy head
They squawked and screamed like vicious raptors
Screeching with their wings outspread
I raised the chick to the holly tree
And it chirped alone for one whole week
I felt so sad and unhappy
Listening to it’s awful cheep
Then one morning the bird did stop
Was the chick now gone and dead?
Was it the bird that the cat had got?
I lay awake alone in bed
Later I became so ill
I slowly weakened and grew pale
I sapped of strength and lost for will
My face looked like a beluga whale
My skin was cold with heavy sweat
My blood felt black just like the bird
I heard a sound not to forget
Before I came back to this world
Now when I hear a bird in trouble
I lay back and start to dwell
I feel good and in my bubble
Because the magpie flew away to hell
© Sean P. Ransom 11/6/2020