when you leave
the sun will bake
your newly hatched feet
the world, unbroken
will beckon
each perch, a promise
as you fledge into the living air
eyes shining, head cocked
curious
we’ll watch, keeping still
as the sweltering day
wary of the endlessness
that stretches above and below
our nest, empty at the center
of that old pear tree
the place where safety
comprised the circumference
of your understanding
until now
with possibilities expanding
you’ll stretch mottled feathers
and glide
to where the seed waits
it will feel like pebbles
shifting under your small weight
satiated, you’ll fly again
into the open air, your exit
the path up and out
autumn waits
then winter
beyond this heat, beckoning
an ancient part of your soul
driving you to the place
where the palm trees grow
and the water shines
like sapphire