One Legged Black Bird

I saw a one legged black bird one day

When I was walking up to school. I had

To stare in awe at how it balanced on

One leg and ate a bug. As I wondered 

How it got injured, it flew away and 

Landed gracefully on a telephone

Line. It was like an acrobat eating

While standing precariously on the edge

Of a tightrope. Despite me running late 

I stood there in the middle of the road

And stared at the handicapped avian.

I could not afford to waste anymore

Time. I walked away reciting the lines: 

One legged black bird,  one legged black bird,  

One legged black bird,  one legged black bird.

It became a song I sang in my head 

For the remainder of my journey to 

School. For the rest of the day it became

My mantra. When I got bored I sang of

One legged black bird,  one legged black bird,  

One legged black bird,  one legged black bird.

I had forgotten about him for a 

Few days, but in the back of my head there 

Was a tune that played in the distance. I 

Hummed in vain attempts to recall any 

Of the lyrics to the tune. I flipped through 

Pages of scribbled carvings and drawings 

And symbols in my notebook and found a 

Phrase I thought looked like gibberish. It read:

"Recall the one legged black bird you saw!"

Like clockwork my mind exploded with a 

Rush of adrenaline. The tune now had 

Words to accompany them. I shouted:

One legged back bird! One legged black bird!

My body tightened and my arms rose to 

The heavens as I was celebrating 

My triumphant victory. I saw that 

A teacher had noticed me celebrate. 

My face turned red and I felt so ashamed. 

Who cares! I remembered the work's title! 

I wrote line after line, counting the words

Syllables with my fingers and doing 

A little happy side to side motion 

When the words fell where I wanted them to. 

I sang the mantra: One legged back bird! 

One legged back bird! One legged black bird!