The bird who sits in the cage of my heart
Won’t stop singing his off-key off-kilter
Out-of-it songs
And the dog who is tethered to a leash in my head
Won’t stop barking at the bird that sits
In the cage of my heart.
The bird who sits in the cage of my heart
Beats his wings against the walls.
If he ever manages to break free
The dog who is tethered to a leash in my head
Could certainly slip his spike and noose,
Leap from my skull
And snap the little birdie in two
So to keep things in détente
I make sure the bird stays in his cage
So that the dog in my head
Is not let loose from the sickness of my mind.
The bird who sits in the cage of my heart
Will never touch the sky
Or light upon a branch that extends itself like unconditional love
But this does not keep the bird from signing loudly and awfully
And this singing makes the dog who is tethered to the leash in my head
Snarl and bark and thrash about –
And all I want to do is get a good eight hours sleep.
John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many disparate literary journals since 2009. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online.