to leap from its nest into the air for the first time
to not just take that first step out onto a branch
but to actually try to fly?
A scientist would tell me that it’s all
just instinct, that your average baby bird
has less fear where heights are concerned
than a baby taking its first upright, unsteady, unaided steps
But I would tell that scientist
that they must not ever have seen
a tiny sparrow, balanced wobbly on a tree branch
noisily squawking in protest at its parents on the ground below
unwilling or unable to join them for most of an afternoon.
Holly Day’s writing has recently appeared in The NoSleep podcast, Talking River, and New Plains Review, and her published books include Music Theory for Dummies and Music Composition for Dummies. She currently teaches classes at The Loft Literary Center in Minnesota, Hugo House in Washington, and the Indiana Writers Center.