as free as a bird.......

Often

in the morning

 as I take my first sip

of tea while looking 

out 

of the kitchen window

 I realise 

and feel grateful

as I watch the birds

competing for the breadcrumbs and bits of

cheese that I put out 

for them

to eat

the previous night,

I think of

the lives of birds 

and although it seems 

a far more simplistic 

and a more free life than mine

it has problems, troubles, fights

and difficulties

and I realise that it is far easier 

being me 

than being a bird 

and having to compete for food and have

bigger birds be nasty to you

and that one moment you can be 

splashing and wetting your feathers 

in a birdbath

and then when you leave

the safety of my courtyard

and venture into the sun in the front garden

to dry your feathers

you get eaten by the cat

from No. 9

and I, 

at the end of the day,

get home from work

and find the garden covered

in feathers and wonder

which bird you were

and how could one bird have so many feathers?

and feel bad because I let you down

and offered you food and water

and made you feel safe and brave

and could not warn you

about the dangerous cat

from No.9