never forget from where you came |
I can remember the Amazon- gliding through the humid air squawking raucous cries... celebrating, joining the vibrant noise and mess and color of my brethren. I was plucked from my lush sky- my unique call gagged, my wings smartly clipped, wrapped tightly in newspaper, made to suffocate with black and white words, stuffed in crates with many others of my kind, smuggled in to places to be properly displayed and sold. I can remember the pain. They called it teaching when they forced me to twist my call into catchy, cutsey cliche. I learned well to humble and subdue my strong, sharp mouth- they say not to bite the hands that feed you. So for a time, I settled on my wooden perch, was mildly amused with a small square mirror and a tiny bell- I reconciled to the cage. Yet recently, my feathers ruffled with a breeze of spirit. I was not so careful when hungry for a seed, allowed razor beak to puncture flesh. The shout was beautiful- sudden and crisp like an echo of my long lost voice. More stunning was the drop of blood, like an over-ripe berry on some exotic tree. I will always remember my Amazon. |