Ode To a Fallen Sparrow

Oh, dear Sparrow! Fallen still Softly feathered where you lay As of a soldier gently eased To sleep in dreams away Whose dying wish was lost, was lost In wars of yesterday Your folded wings are nestled close Your uniform unmarred There is no stain upon your coat Nor mark upon your bars It seems from battle you emerged Without a battle scar For there you are composed, serene Your earthly visage calm No sign of struggle or of strife No specter of alarm Nor outward damage I can see – Within, then, be the harm Where broken wounds internalize Beyond the battlefield Where kamikaze skirmishes Could not survive the steel And solid soundness of the pane Which from you did not yield To you then, fallen warrior In tribute, hear my prayer – That you may soar unbounded, free With worry none, nor care In everlasting flight on wings As virtual as air –