Black Bird On a Wire Edited Version
Black Bird on a Wire
Black Bird
sitting on a wire
back turned towards me
Do you wish to hide the intelligence of your eyes
I see here at this old dump
picking through the unwanted wanted things
I wish I could search along with you
check out what the Jones's have no more use for
The bits of their unfixed
the not new enough
Their "I think we deserve the very best."
"This ain't good enough, let's buy more and more stuff!"
At one time
I wore their discarded garments without pride
I should have been proud
for I dug for them with my wanting hands
Hands that waded through
their decadence
the refillable
the recyclable
their unused reusable
Black Bird
I watch you and your brothers
as you feasted on our last suppers
Ripping open black bags
fighting for morsels
Unconcerned with the rotting
intoxicated by fermenting fruit
the pungent aromas
There are bones that need to be picked clean
I noticed but did not recall until now
the depth of my wanting
the hunger within
Back then
I was hoping
praying for a bicycle
Desperately wanting to ride far away from here
so that I might escape my then
my embarrassment
my "I hope no one sees me!"
"Garbage picker!"
"Where did you get that coat?"
"We threw that in the dump!"
Boy oh boy do I like clothing now.
No one will ever again make fun of what I wear!
Part of me wishes to return with you Black Bird
to see what I have left behind
So that I can reclaim
and recycle that little boy
But I can't
The dumps aren't open anymore
It is like those old bones
bleached
picked clean
Manicured
Items placed in appropriate piles
All the while
you sit on your wire
back turned to me
Intelligent eyes hidden
knowing I can't disturb you
In a while you will feed on yesterday
for this place
is not closed to you!
This piece grew out of my childhood experiences. We got our clothing from the dump and I still remember a girl saying to my sister " That's my coat, we threw that in the dump." I felt so bad for her and also for myself.
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