POETRY: PERSPECTIVE BY JOSIE CABRERA

does the black-capped chickadee of the northwest forests know that she is free? 

no migration

limited risk 

staying in the same forest through every season 

but does she feel trapped? 

i ask her 

and she joins me on the grass 

she starts to echo a song about wishing to be free

with an impeccable memory 

untouched snow for cheeks 

a delicate yet eager soul 

living in the crevice of a birch tree

you would think 

she’s blind or even mad 

for singing a song about 

longing to be a free bird in the sky 

who can fly beyond the forests and over the sea

do you know who you are and what you have?

freedom is of the mind 

you think about yourself

and then a black-capped chickadee

and can’t begin to sympathize 

for a bird asking for freedom 

when such wings carry limitless power

but the wind, clouds, and comparison

the taste of the foxglove flower 

they all blur our vision 

so much so we can’t see 

the freedom that always exists 

around us, everywhere

all

of 

the 

time 

a bird or a human 

in times of war or pollution

in the forest or in a prison 

both dominated by towers and pillars

saints and sinners

and animals waiting to strike

it’s your choice to see freedom

find it and take it

and hold it for a while 

that freedom is lingering in an empty aisle 

it’s not easy to replant your blame 

but i promise you sweet bird, fly high because 

freedom is yours to claim