Bird sitting in the window of the room. From The Margin

Good morning, feathered friend.
I’ve been thinking about you.

Did dreams visit you last night?

Mine held a light I couldn’t keep.

I woke still heavy with sleep,

my mind a maze without a story.

The world outside was already moving —
work, cold water, noise —
and I stayed behind in a dream I didn’t want to leave.

Birds, how do you carry so much freedom?
You rise and sing like it costs nothing.

I can’t feel myself anymore.

I asked the sky for an answer.
The birds only sang.

Still, your melody moved through the leaves.
Something in it stayed with me —
a remnant from the dream.

Were you there?
I reached for you, but the chains of sleep held me down.

So I stand here, lost and cold,
listening.

Maybe there’s a fragment still left for me.