Becoming a Bird

What does it feel like to be that tiny body, breathing so quickly...

You really need to work on
becoming a Bird every day,
or a Fox, Gazelle, Lion or maybe even a Worm.

These are important tasks nobody is tending to.

Your pinfeathers have probably not emerged
even once in your life.
You could be nibbling at their pointed ends
with your narrow beak,
coaxing them to break through
and open.

Imagine how glorious you’ll feel
with your long buried plumage
finally meeting the world.

Did you know you have a tail you’ve never seen?
It’s thick and crackles electric when it brushes the leg
of the person who makes you flush with heat
when you see them,
when you smell them.
Your tail wraps inward,
gently brushing their calf just so,
letting them know
you could be feeling this heat together.

All of this and more is waiting for you,
if
when your soft toes touch the morning floor
you creep to the end of the bed,
and remind yourself of that one bird
that took your attention so easily
captured your heart with a song
and a flash of her beauty.

What does it feel like
to be that tiny body
breathing so quickly,
part of the pulse of this forest?

You may not know if the currents
of the day are made of sunlight or wind,
If you will eat well or not,
it doesn’t matter.

Preen,
pluck,
fly,
dance.

This is who you really are.

This is the work of soul,
to play at being everything.