The Uncaged Bird
By John Herlihy

Once upon a time, there was a sad caged bird,
Who sang melancholy songs no one ever heard.
Did anyone ever listen? Did anyone ever hear?
Her little heart pierced as if fallen on life’s spear.
Was God in His Heaven, listening to her request?
Did He stand ready at this poor creature’s behest?

A large tender finger reach down from the blue,
And opened the latch key of a door the same hue.
Confused, the little bird chirped, then looked around,
Before flying out the bars and alighting on the ground.
The whole world now surrounded her like a vast sea;
She chirped now most sweetly, wishing all to see.

The uncaged bird sat and clutched daintily
The stark brown branch of a lone winter tree.
The bars of her cage had simply fallen away,
Now set free to fly unknowingly thru the fray.
God had granted this and many other requests;
He always stands ready at his creatures’ behest.

The bird ravenous; it rummaged the soil for worms,
Realizing it must now feed itself on its own terms.
“Give me,” the bird entreated, “the eyesight of a hawk,
That I may comfortably find worms that I daily stalk.”
And God gladly granted the little bird’s simple request;
He always stands firm, ready at His creatures’ behest.

As it flew, the little bird saw every blade of grass,
The vein on every leaf the world’s trees can amass.
“Give me,” the bird exulted, “the span of a hawk’s wings,
That I might observe all the earth as my heart sings.”
And God gladly granted the little bird’s simple request;
He always stands firm, ready at His creatures’ behest.

The little bird glided merrily through the open sky,
Its heart filled to brimming, as it flew far up on high.
“it’s cold up here,” she cried, “Give me hawk feathers,
To keep me warm so that I may withstand all weathers.”
And God gladly granted the little bird’s simple request;
He always stands firm, ready at His creatures’ behest.

But the plumage of the hawk was far too heavy and thick,
For the likes of this little bird who felt increasingly sick.
The burdened wings beat furiously round and round,
But soon the little bird plummeted down to the ground.
Life sometimes reluctantly responds to our vain requests;
It has its own way and serves the world at its own behest.

Other birds continued to fly through the wide open sky;
The world at their beckoning without even asking why.
This bird no longer questioning, not one single request;
God in His Heaven still servicing the world at its behest.
Wrapped warmly in earth’s soil as it laid down and died,
The little bird saw a glowworm burrow in the soil to hide.