One Small Bird

One Small Bird - Matt Duke

There's a small girl with her backpack

Filled with textbooks out of date

Sings a new song every block

And gets to school about ten of eight

For each hopscotch on the school lot

There's a wall that's tagged with names

And heavy bars conceal the windows

Etched remarks detail the frames

One small bird flew away from this earth

Wings pushing so high

But looking down on that once fragile ground

She's happy to be in the sky

O' How the sunlight burns the pavement

As the sweat forms on her brow

There's some shade beneath the building

And the hydrant's open now

And as they line up from their recess

Cracking sounds disrupt the sky

And tiny holes as big as pennies

Mark the walls as children cry

And one small bird flew away from this earth

Wings pushing so high

But looking down on that once fragile ground

She's happy to be in the sky