Two sparrows sat in a willow tree
Squabbling over scraps of food
Eye to eye and beak to beak until
A steely breeze came from afar
And carried one away.
Eye to eye and beak to beak until
A steely breeze came from afar
And carried one away.
Late one summer the bird returned
With tales of distant lands
Of trees and flowers not seen before
By eye of bird or man.
And reader, Hark! when all is quiet
The two sparrows may still be heard
In the whispering of the wind at night.
Though no-one knows where they are now
We wish them both eternal flight.
—okei (2001)
Photo: “Two Sparrows & A Young Goldfinch” by Johannes Bronkhorst
