A blackbird sits upon a tree

and no one bothers to see

what lies inside its tender heart

or how it used to be.

 

‘I used to fly above the earth,’

said the recollecting bird,

‘I used to touch the Gates above.

Now, my emotions stir.’

 

The blackbird’s head now looking down

As if it wants to fall.

Inching forward, I see its desire

but cannot quite make the call.

 

What happened to make its wings so bleak

and cause a perpetual stay?

Why do people move along, unnoticing,

and go along with their day?

 

Inching forward even still,

the blackbird about to descend

and come upon internal peace

and, willingly, the end.

 

The blackbird now looks toward the sky

as if to find the answer.

It acknowledges a flock of robins

as they fly by with rancor.

 

The robins’ wings stretch east to west

and glide through the temperate air

all while the blackbird calmly awaits

the devil’s cold, dark stare.

 

The blackbird’s head looks down once more

as it ponders the plunge.

Tears swell inside its gloomy eyes,

but it cannot make the lunge.

 

The blackbird slowly lifts its head

to the ever-glowing sun

revealing deep, blood-stained gashes

to me and to everyone

 

Memories now flood my brain

as I process those cavernous cuts.

I remember those same slashes,

blood-red as internal ruts.

 

I used to sit upon this bench

and watch the bird fly by

in splendid admiration

against the bright-blue sky.

 

For seven years, I watched this bird

pierce through the day.

I used to give it seeds, smile at it,

and send it on its way.

 

The blackbird’s head looks down once more

as this will be the last time,

for the blackbird gave an answer clear…

It lands on its chest and dies.

 

As black as the blackbird is my heart

as suicide prevails.

Despite the magnetic pull of Earth,

the rotation of our planet fails.

 

And so ends of the tale of the blackbird

although life will continue on.

The Earth will still rotate again,

but without the blackbird’s song.

 

A blackbird sat upon a tree

and no one bothered to see

what lied inside its tender heart

or how it used to be.