What You Are Saying Poem by RIC BASTASA

you once said
you are unhappy
you live on this hard shell
of a tortoise
and your burden
is such that you cannot
really move freely
as a bird with its wings

you wish the burden
melts into your skin
and it is done

then you say
the skin binds you
and the flesh and bone
are burdens too

you want something
lighter like the feathers
of a free bird
something light and easy
and verily free
and it is done

i am happy to see
you flying in the skies
doing some acrobatics
in space
chirping some melodies
under the trees
diving in the sea
teasing the rivers
and this hovering
on the cows

and today i hear
a different song
a sad song from a bird
by my window
it is you
you want to return
to the hard shell of
the tortoise
you miss the silence
and the privacy
of your hiding

now, you have doubts
what burdens are
what freedom is
and this cannot just
be easily done