A revised version based on insightful reader comments.

LITTLE BIRD 1

By John Herlihy

A little bird told me
I had something to say
I listened very carefully
And I took this away.

Sorrow becomes happiness;
Misery turns to regret.
The world spins on its axis,
Giving us time to forget.

Desire pushes us forward;
Satisfaction is not far behind.
We think we have what we wanted,
But instead find a trick of the mind.

The clock strikes midnight
With the sound of a beating heart.
The glass slipper shatters to pieces
The moment when lovers must part.

Happiness is there by the hour,
We think we can hold it fast;
But it slips through our fingers like flour,
A ghost that escapes our grasp.

I once said hello to success,
Hoping to become his friend.
He turned on his heels with a whimper
And disappeared round the bend.

Tomorrow can knocking at my door,
I didn’t think to reply.
Then I remembered my destiny
And the days already gone by.

Why do we search for life’s key
In the depths of King Solomon’s mines?
When the miracle we are looking for
Can be found in the shadow of the pines.

I went back to the little bird
Who sang songs of mystery.
I wanted to tell him what I learned
About what it means to be.

But lo when I came to see him
And whistled feeling brave,
He turned his face in wonder
And beckoned me like a knave

I climbed up into the branches
Of the gnarled and crotchety tree
So thick with twisted branches
It was difficult to see.

The little bird began to whisper
Into my expectant and willing ear
Of life and friendship and the powers to fear,
Echoing in the treetops
The wisdom I needed to hear.