Red Bird perched on a branch, the black pearls of its eyes

Staring wisely at the snow down below. You want to know

How I got here, the bird inquired softly of the snow.

For fact I know that my brothers and sisters, who soar in the sky,

Beholding beauty of the Earth I couldn’t dream of,

Who’s loved ones you murdered without count,

They were burning with hatred for you, they feared you.

For endless sleepless nights they mourned their dead,

And cursed your name, but sympathy I had instead

And then I fell for you and sacrificed my heart,

I felt we couldn’t live our lives apart.

Amongst the endless nights by solitude sedated

The songs of praise and love to you I dedicated.

The silly choice I made, perhaps

Not joining friends in hot, exotic places,

Blind my passion drew me to your fluffy, cool embrace

I could not think of any other place.

The birds of diff’rent kinds, palettes aplenty

Who tried to save me from impending doom,

Were crying bitter tears when I decided

To wait for you amongst the Autumn’s gloom.

The wind was singing neverending tune

Of my futile desire, uprooting trees and imploring

Of me to fall out of love and save myself.

The yellow leaves that felt your morbid chill

And doomed to die, begged me to change my mind.

The wise old trees were warning of love’s fatality.

But he who wants to freeze all warnings will ignore.

And God wasn’t in a rush to save me,

Perhaps He longed to see what feats

The zealous love was capable of doing.

Many a bird that boasted lavish garments,

The plumages of colors so vivid

That words unable to describe,

The ones that flew so high they touched the Sun

Were pledging their love to me, bit I

Repelled them all. For others’ loathing

T’was you I longed to love.

And here I am, and that’s what I deserved:

Your lack of sympathy, your devastating coldness

That day by day is slowly killing me.

When under burning sun the birds sang praise to flowers,

I fluttered off, despondent and lethargic.

My tiny heart was filled with longing

For you, the heatless snow!

I was naïve and innocent to see

The misery and torture of true love.

When my sad song was carried by the wind

From shady groves to lovers’ eager ears,

They shed the tears of pleasure, unaware

That my sweet song was filled with such desire

For your enchanted pallid beauty.

I yearned for misery amongst the sea of bliss,

I longed for poison in a glass of nectar,

As if eternally was destined to exist.

My love for you had turned me into joke,

A stranger I became in my home grove.

He who was never stricken by affliction

That we call carelessly “love” or “passion”

Would never comprehend the endless pain,

The hell on Earth, the agony and torture…

A day will come and our eyes will open

Beholding ones who once we so adored,

To whom we dedicated our lives,

And who’s devotion we never questioned

Clip our wings and wrap in freezing cold,

Then leave us to a slow and painful death.

To love or not to love? How one should know

Until one drinks the cup of bitter potion?

Why did I fall for you, my sweet assassin?

The death wish why I cherished?

I could have lived without blazing passion

That scourched my soul and turned my heart to cinder.

I could have joined the flocks who fly due South

To places that have never seen the snow,

Where flowers bloom incessantly for years

And feed my sisters’ endless songs of joy.

The cheerless gaze of my depressing eyes

Gives out the sadness of my frozen soul

You wrapped in wintry mantle of your guise.

Am I in love with you now when I’m doomed to die?

I guess I am, and that I won’t deny.

It’s not that easy to uproot my love

Its roots have grown deep and up above

The crown of the sprawling tree

Still worships the indiff’rent thee.

You’re beautiful, that now I can see,

But beauty’s worth is naught

When it can’t warm  the  soul.

I wish I knew before I took the pledge

That love is capable of murder,

I would have pledged my heart to Sun instead,

The Sun that warmed my heart

For days and months a year

And asked for nothing in return!

Woe to the heart that fell in love with snow

And doomed itself to freeze in icy glow!

Oh, heartless one! You seek to make my tomb

The very grove where I first learned to fly,

Where every shrub was pledging me its love,

Where fiery blooms were honored to receive

The touch of charming wings!

A tomb for one who pledged you all her love…

If I could turn back and make my choice again,

I would have picked the Red Bird, which was not

Afraid  of  blazing Sun and fearlessly flew

Towards the scorching  disc.

The one who spread the wings of Liberty

To win my love!

Forever we would fly across  the  Summer sky

And drink the sweet nectar of flowers’ bloom

That  smells  of  love  at dawn.

The bloom that measures up to your eternal splendor

Except for thorns that pierce the hearts

Of lovers who come too close for an intimate look.

The Sun came out in an act of mercy,

It warmed the icy branch and ruby bird

That perched upon it, wrapped in misery.

The frozen love was thawed and run as tears

Down Red Bird’s frozen feathers.

And happy Red Bird spread its wings

And happily it sang the ode to Life:

Oh, Life, how good you are,

How beautiful and dear

When soul of frozen love is clear!

The sadness shall be gone

And heart will lose its pain,

And I will sing the song

Of love and life again!

Alighted off the branch,

The Red Bird took the flight

To Sun that in the sky

Was burning so bright…

By Liana Margiva