Her Nest, Her World
by Ryder J. (Grade 7)

A mother sparrow only wants good
for her chick in the world.
She knows she will give it all the love,
All the care she can give,
but she fears the world won't do the same.
She fears that the world will be cruel,
Cruel to her little one.
She fears that the world will push it aside,
And then it will continue going.

   If only she could see.

She wants to just tuck it under her wing,
tell it that it will be alright.
She will say this with hope,
Hope in the world.
She can keep it safe in the safety of her nest.

   See the truth.

In her nest
lies her world.
Her world is beside her,
always with her,
until she leaves
to bring back food.
She does this as fast as she can
So she can keep her world safe.

   The truth in the world.

She hopes for the best
and tries to fend off the worst.

She is consumed by this lie:

that all of the world is terrible,
that all it wants to do is hurt.
She fails to realize the good,
like the humans
who made her home,
her bird box tacked to the tree.
And they gave her food,
the unlimited supply of sunflower seeds
just on the other tree next to her's.
And there's a place to drink,
a beautiful fountain shared with other birds.
If only she could see these things.

   She will see, eventually.

She'lll see that not all of the world is corrupt;
see that there are still those that care.

But until her chick can fly,
can fend for itself,
she will not see.
But when she takes a step back
And trusts her world to be on its own,
She will begin to see,
see the world.
And not the bad parts, anymore,
but the good ones,
The ones she had missed for so long.

   She will see the truth.

Even after she sees this,
She will still hope,
worry,
And appreciate her world.