They were Already Gone

They start out young, innocent

Fluffy little things like pom poms

They fall asleep in your hands as you sing

And all you want is to cling

To them and their innocence

Their soft feathers

Can’t stand the never-ending cold weather

Like a thin blanket in a snowstorm

And you count each and every one

Because they matter

But they leave that nest

They grow

their feathers rougher

They’re a little taller

a little more mischievous

Escaping the coup at night

Missing for days, such a fright

Some come back and some don’t

And some you find their feathers laying out on the ground

and wonder

Where they have gone

Drawn to a place you can not see

Flee to a new reality

Just to be

Free and alive

But the truth

Is that they are never coming back

But finally, the ones still here

they have finished growing

Laying eggs

Digging holes with their little legs

Eating worms to their delight

And even stealing some of your crop

Just because they can

But you have to wonder how long before another one is gone

Missing until you find the feathers

Sprawled out spilled as if with carelessness

But you know they are never coming back

Blow after blow

Missing after missing

You don’t count like each one matters anymore

You don’t cling to them anymore

You don’t pretend anymore

Because the truth

the truth

Is that they are never coming back

And

In the end

You wonder what if

I had done something more

Maybe, just maybe it would be different

Because the truth is that

I had stopped caring

I had stopped believing

And I had stopped clinging to their innocence

And in the end

The truth was that they were already gone

And I couldn't start caring now