Fly Away

This poem touches my heart on such a personal level. I've met so many amazing little birds who seem to have crossed my path in need of help. It was my pleasure and honor to assist them to their freedom. So many have been tiny little sparrows, still residing in their pink transluscent skin, too young for even feathers. Daily love, warmth, shelter, and feeding as they squeaked and bounced their awkward heads for food, built a place for them in my heart. But, yes that day always comes when they need to be set free -- to be encouraged to take wing and fly freely to live their lives -- just as they would have, had nothing befallen them and separate them from their parents. I love on them as much as is fair, and tend to them painstakingly, trying to mimic nature as much as possible for them. But alas-- the time to let them go (literally and figuratively) inevitably comes. And that is a day brings emotions you could surely guess...

There is warning of that day: They start exercising their wings instinctually. Like little helicopters, they flap harder and harder, bouncing off of any surface like they are skipping a jump rope. They grow stronger. Soon, they are fluttering, flitting about. As a child, I'd always thought the parents taught them to fly. But apparently, God fully equipped them with an innate prompting to fly, and how to prepare for it.

And so, in this poem, Paul Holmes outlines the feelings that course through me on "the big day." Through his words, I see that he has a "knowing" about the relationship between a person and a bird. And so, most comforting is his final line...

Fly Away by Paul Holmes, UK

Fly away, little sparrow,

Fly to the wide blue sky,

Enjoy your new-found freedom,

Of this I won’t deny.

I’m so happy to see your wing

No longer bruised and broken,

So pleased to release you,

Of this I’ve often spoken.

I’ve fed you with my hand,

Cared for all your needs,

Brought you back to health,

Fed you with finest seeds.

Your feathers were so dirty,

At death’s door you did appear

But, with a little kindness

You revived, to my great cheer.

So, now, with a little sadness

I send you back to your friends,

And as I watch you stretch you wings

A shiver down my spine it sends;

I’m happy now that you are free,

Back to where you belong

Perhaps you’ll return to my window-sill

And reward me with your song…