Said the Poem to the Poet

A sparrow was flying by the river bank
When she looked down
And saw that a fish had been swimming
Along with her in the water.

The fish too, noticing her for quite
Some time now, yelled out;
O sparrow!
We are so similar in our love for freedom
And our sense of adventure.
But while you roam the heavens,
And play with clouds,
I wade the waters,
And frolic with bubbles.

The sparrow replied;
Yes, you’re right.
We can never be with each other;
If I come join you,
I will drown.
If you come up to meet me,
You will suffocate.

This is terrible, said the fish,
I want to know you.
I want to know you too,
Replied the sparrow,
But shall we choose death
Over a beautiful story?

The fish swam in a couple of circles
And the sparrow stopped to rest on a branch.

Finally, the fish said, either way,
It’s a beautiful story; almost human,
Almost love.

How about this? Dear sparrow,
Let us part in opposite directions
And if some day we find ourselves
Being air and water companions again,
We will know what the ending should be.
The sparrow agreed and thus they parted.

Three years later,
When a great storm swept through
Where the sparrow was flying,
She lost control and veered
Straight into the glass
Window of a nice high-rise condo.
Before she fell to her death
Into a river below,
She looked inside the room.

A family was having dinner
And on their plates,
Lay the same fish she had
Thought about all this time.

Ah! She exclaimed as she fell,
Fish! It is not beautiful at all,
These humans are not beautiful
At all!

©hRj 2007