Birds in the Hand


I suppose I should thank my cats
for this gift -
for knowing what you feel like,
soft, light and warm,
a fistful of fluff,
pitter of a heartbeat
impossibly fast.
If I can catch you
while you can still fly away,
while you can still 
retain the strength 
to fear
and flee from
me,
that heart will flutter on
in rhythm to your
wings.
But if I free you
when you are too weak 
to be afraid,
and hold you
in my hands, or in a box,
to keep your life
sewn to you,
that heart will stop
impossibly fast.

by Sara, copyright 1999, all rights reserved