Note: This poem was inspired by an event that took place a few weeks ago. I was sitting on my bunk when I noticed a movement on my cell door. I looked up and there sat a male Cardinal sitting on my cell door peering at me. He had flown inside the building through an unscreened open window. You can imagine how amazed I was to see him sitting there. He sat there and cocked his head toward me as if he was saying something. I remained motionless so I wouldn’t scare him off. After a few seconds he flew off and found his way out the same way he came in. This was such an unusual experience that I decided to write a poem about it. 

A feathered friend stopped by today.
He looked at me as if to say,
C’mon outside, the weather’s warm,
Better get in some laps before the storm.
He was a cute little Redbird, and he looked the part.
He kept nodding his head, waiting for me to start.
I just sat and admired my cute little friend,
I hoped he wouldn’t leave and bring it all to an end.
I thought about how different his world was from mine.
My nest was dreary, and his filled with sunshine.
He could come and go and fly where he may,
But, I had to wait to see the brightness of day.
He puffed out his feathers and said, Follow Me,
I want to show you my digs I built in a tree.
I looked at the clock, and it was time for the yard,
I said, I’ll meet you outside, I had found a new PARD!
Once outside, he showed me around,
I saw his new pad and all the trinkets he’d found.
Later on he left me and flew high in the tree,
I knew he was worried but not about me.
I heard him chatter, and I looked up with dread,
There was a female Redbird Pecking on his head.
I knew it was time that we both said goodbye,
I waved at him as they both flew off, high in the sky.
I saw him now and then as I passed by his tree,
She was working his tail off and there was no time for me.
He had done his job in the short time we had,
He had brightened my days and took away all the bad.