Blackbirds and the Homeless

Source: Photo of a blackbird taken at the San Francisco Zoo

Blackbird

He teeters softly

balancing unconscious

upon fog dampened phone lines.

Feathers his garment,

he awakens to windswept mist

and shattered street scenes below.

Emerging from his protective quarters

inside himself, he spreads his wings

and surveys concrete organisms

below his perch where the cumulus

provide a warm, safe haven.

He flutters haphazardly on broken

streets surrounded by industrial obesity

in search of discarded

morsels to satisfy his hunger.

Innocuous in his size he is not noticed and

therefore not seen, though rises above it all

naturally gifted

with wings of freedom.

Homeless

His cries hidden

sleeping consciously

upon garbage strewn pavement.

Newspapers his blanket,

he awakens to deafening sirens

and the morning rush hour.

Emerging from the daily news

and fetal position he sits

watching oblivious passersby

invade the unseen territory

of which he calls home.

He begs pleading for change on broken

streets surrounded by guilt ridden elite

in search of discarded scraps to keep him alive.

Big as life he is not acknowledged and

therefore ignored though rises above it all

naturally gifted

with a heart full of hope.