How They Became Birds

it would be some time

before they could really walk again

their steps grew smaller

their legs sluggish, waterlogged

it was easier to fold them up,

tuck them away under their bodies

it was better for nesting anyway

for it was needed

to tend to their nests

to shield what was fragile

sometimes they wondered at

how light their lives had become

for a while they could only see things far away

for a while the sky was all they had of freedom

and they had no choice but to trust the wind

they realized that singing

carried further than talking

it was only a matter of time

before more than their voices took flight

but by then they had learned fiercely

to let go

(*note: I wrote this poem under lockdown, during the earlier days of the pandemic.)