…

#9 of 20.

museum birds

they can fly away
museum birds
like campfire sparks
we lose them
in the dark

we sleepwalk to a box
we warm it with our touch
and suddenly we’re seeing
the colours that were us

don’t
keep your heart a secret
from the very heights
it was born to beat in
love’s wild
it needs some sky
to dream in

the signs might say
keep out
but let’s not be afraid

to break in or escape
(museum birds)
to light the flares trapped
underneath the stairs
to plunge into your jungles
resuscitate the sounds
to rise as something blinding
and burn this building down

don’t
keep your heart a secret
from the very heights
it was born to beat in
love’s wild
it needs some sky
to dream in

the signs might say
keep out
but i will not obey

(from “raised by swans is the name of a man, vol. 2: run with the silent wildfires”. available now. all lyrics and music written and performed by e. howden)