Listen To The Birds

She asked me why the caged birds sing.

I couldn’t tell her,

not for sure.

No mate will arrive this year,

just like last year.

I wonder if they remember,

perhaps they still

live in hope

or sing in contentment

for their good board and lodging.

She asked why humming birds hum,

if it was their song,

a mating song

or song of joy,

of freedom.

I told her it was a work sound

made by their wings

like bees buzzing,

a song of struggle

and survival.

“Do they still sing,” she asked.

https://visualverse.org/submissions/listen-to-the-birds/