Saturday, September 15, 2012

Listen, there's a tale I want to tell,
of courage, bravery and love.
It's a tale I think you all know well,
A story given from above.

It was cold and brisk that September day,
The vibrant leaves flying in the air.
Orange, red, and yellow, we say,
Looks like a woman's golden hair.

The mountains rise up majestically,
Surrounding the valley so small.
And nestled in the foothills, what do we see?
A little cottage in the trees so tall.

Out the front door bounds a little child,
A girl, with long red hair.
What's she doing out there in the raving wild?
She's a baby with a childish air.

Ten coins jingle in the pocket of her dress,
Such a small and measly amount.
Those small, ten coins are littler than less,
But to the girl its too much to count. For the special pennies is all she has to feed herself each day
Yet, the food it brings will go by fast
For this girl who can never pay.

Soon the girl stops to relax in a large open place
Tis a forgotten field, covered with tall grass
That's filled with peace and grace.

Then, she sees something up ahead
A man with a long, grey beard.
He stands there as if he is dead,
And the girl notices something weird.

He's surrounded by thousands of bird cages!
All filled with silent birds.
The girl sees them as empy pages
And wants to fill them with words.

The girl quickly got up from the ground
And politely called, "Excuse me, sir?"
The man quickly flipped around
His mind caught up in a blur.

"How much to buy the birds?" she asked aloud.
He replied, "Fifty coins at least."
She was disappointed; sadly she frowned,
And headed back to the trees.

"How much do you have?" the old man called.
"Only ten coins,sir."
He wssn't disappointed, not at all.
Instead he said, "Take 'Em. There yours."
She was so happy!
She gave him the money. The only thing she had.

The old man watched,he found it funny.
She let them all go, and wasn't sad.
"Why'dya do that?" the man asked, confused.
"Those birds were sad. Not free.
The sacrifice was hard to choose, But now the birds are happy.

The man and the girl looked up
As the birds took to the sky.
They once were bound, but someone drank the cup
And now the birds can fly.