FREE BIRD

one fine day,
he had wings;
he realized
his prayers have been answered-
"god,let me be free,
give me wings and let me fly away
from the world that makes me toil
that gives me love just to make me cry
that gives me challenges so that i can meet them; and fail
where bread comes from battles
and water from blood spills
where you are accepted
for tied neck and tied heels
and a mask of pretenses to hide
your true self as if
it were something hedious and boorish
"o god
give me wings and let me fly away"

and he had wings.
as the rays of dawn tickled
his eyes to wake fullness
he was conscious of something
covering his body and
stretching out as he woke
the mirror asserted his disbelief:
he had wings,
big and strong and beautiful
it was all his.
"give me wings and ill fly away"
he was free,he could fly
the world may not have him,
but he will have the skies.
from shock to jubilation
he made himself believe:
he had wings.

he rushed to his window
of a new world,
he looked up at the sky
bathed in gold spilled from the sun,
and the clouds as puffed pillows
a better bed he will never have
he looked down at the shadow and dust
of what used to be his world:
an arena which hosted rat races,
for the meager prize of survival.
he puffed in air,
a subject of his would be empire.
he closed his eyes
and said to himself,
"this is too good to be true
and yet it is"
"give me wings,and let me fly away"

(to be continued...)