A poem dedicated to my first protagonist

“Poor thing,
You woke up in a tree that was burning.
Climbed high, dear,
Didn’t you?
Because you can,
Because you always do.

“That’s the thing about scale:
Way up there,
You see the world turning.
Because you can,
And you do.
Clear as yellow leaves twirling on down
to the ground in the Fall.

“Aren’t you queer?
Always gazing
Always praising
Always tripping over everything
In plain sight.
Nothing wrong with the nest,
Sweet worry-warbler.
Or aren’t you grateful for the roof over your head
Beneath my window?

“Find another view
Because you can
Because you do
Because you need to come to grips
With the deal.
Papers, signed.
See now—it’s a controlled burn.
Great people, important, powerful people shook on it.
Unfortunate that spot you like has got to go,
Where the pine cones grow like mistletoe,
But anywho,
Miss: It’s time to find somewhere else to play.“

“Mightn’t you have called me down from there,
Sir,
Before you began burning?”

by Kailey Ann