Birds

Hannah Loughran, Contributor. 

Birds are not restricted by long rivers

or winding roads. They need not boats and oars,

or cars and engines to see the world. And

how sweet their view! Nature’s rich banquet laid

before them, and every tree boasts a branch

for slumber. Never do they fear the past,

but cast off the feathered layers of old,

and use these sheaths to build new nests for free.

Yet never do they know the joy of men,

who look up to the sky and see the wings

of creatures who fly closer to God than

they. Human hope soars on those wings, which do

not doubt, but trust the air to carry them

over stormy seas, roads, mountains and trees