One day I spied upon the gate <br />A yellow canary in his prime, <br />Through some mishap or act of fate <br />He 'scaped his cage before the time <br />Of Honeysuckle, Rose and purple Columbine. <br /> <br />Against the blue he rose on high <br />To frost the tops of stone gray Elms. <br />He spread his wings to mount the sky <br />Invading Jay and Redbird Realms <br />From which he quickly fled <br />To a low slung power line. <br /> <br />I wondered if this golden flyer <br />Had found that life was sweeter free <br />Or was a cage his one desire, <br />His song unheard except by me <br />And chance observers at my sill. <br /> <br />The smoldering sun died in the west <br />With blue-white night winds moaning chants. <br />Then, in the morning, after rest <br />I sought the bird among the plants <br />That brave the February ice and chill. <br /> <br />Underneath a Spruce I found <br />The bird had fallen in the night <br />And died upon the frozen ground, <br />Unfinished song, untimely ended flight <br />For freedom, God's unspoken word. <br /> <br />Now every Spring beneath that Norway strain <br />A yellow Cowslip lifts up its head <br />And sings a song of sun and rain, <br />Far from the cage from which 'He' fled. <br />Sweeter notes my heart has never heard.<br /><br />Amos Doyle<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/freedom-god-s-unspoken-word/
