The Hedgerow

The Hedgerow
By Myself as I was
~2001 and ~2005


A bird nest within the hedge
A fledgling too close to the edge
A snakepit hidden below
Where years of thorns had grown

Wings not yet strong
A nest nowhere near safe
Within the thorns festered a wrong
For some it was too late

A snake had climbed
The fledgling froze in fear
As scales wormed along the thorny vine
Slithering ever near

Eyes unfeeling
Snakes savor thier kill
Fangs gleaming
If they can't have it nobody will

Poised for the strike
Frozen in flight
By coils in brambles
Was innocence mangled
One last effort to the edge
She finally fledged

Bruised, broken, poisoned
Left in the thorns and forgotten
Venom never lessened
No song ever spoken

No chance for flight
No hope for dawn
No setting things right
No ending the wrong
~~~~~~~
But along came a Gardener
"These thorns look mighty high"
He searched for any sign of life
But none did He spy

Save for one insignificant thing
-A broken little bird
Too weak to fly or sing
but He knew without a word

He cared for the bird, took it in
Fed it, and bound its wing
It trusted Him
And soon began to sing

The bird was set free
After Healing of the wing
It made Him smile to see
It fly and sing

His next task was to then
Make the garden whole again
With a hoe and with a rake
He set out to right a Mistake

"These thorns have never bloomed," said He
"All they ever do is create misery.
Not even a single flower...
They only seek to overpower"

And when He saw the den
And a flash of glittering scales
He knew what must be done then
And done without delay

From the shadows seething
Cold eyes glittered with hate
To think an insignificant fledgling
Could somehow seal thier fate

Cowered within thier pit
They hissed and they slithered
Soon the bramble will be lit
Thier kingdom soon shall wither

The Hedgerow is burning
The flames leap high
No more slithering
After little birds unable to fly

As dusk descended
Away the smoke was blown
The Gardener looked for His little freind
"See, all that was bad is now gone"

He found her
Slumped on the windowsill
Smoke had charred her lungs
And her song was now stilled

"It's alright," said He most gently
And carried her indoors
"You sang your song briefly
But changed the garden evermore"

He feared the worst that night
Wether she would survive
the Hedgerow had been part of her life
Was its destruction now her demise

First light brought a familiar song
She was waiting at the door
Wishing, alive and strong
To be set free once more

The wind in her face was clean
The air was finally pure
Not a snake was to be seen
She took flight to be sure

High above with her Mended wing
She dipped and she swooped
Down below she heard the Gardener sing
As the ashes away He scooped

She watched Him for awhile
She looked at the charred remains
How things once so vile
Were ashes now on the ground lain

Soon all was cleared away
In time new things would grow
Good replaced the bad
Where once was the Hedgerow

~~~~~~~~~~