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a pastiche of J. T. Ledbetter
They tried not to see the baby bird
shuddering its broken feathers on
the parched earth;
they seemed not to know it had fallen,
tumbling from its nest, then collapsing
into a mound of splintered bones,
and they pretended not to pity the bird
cooing feebly from the ground
like a spring blossom choked by frost
desperate for hope;
but everyone watched as the bird
folded its wings and lifted
its head above the dying leaves
and whispered a melody that with every verse
grew louder and louder
until there was no fallen bird to pity,
no broken soul to feel sorry for,
only the music of a reborn heart
carrying its song into the sky.
Teresa Gao