Bailey Rodfield

What Does A Bird Hater Do?

Maybe that caged bird Maya Angelou wrote of,
Maybe there’s another cage, another bird
A whole aviary of cages, chained up
By dirty words, spat from the bowels of hatred
Itself.
There’s a good half of every person alive
Looking at those cages in adoration
“Look what we’ve done to our beautiful nation, we…
We’re just making it great again.”
It’s like the hand of God
Ripped us all out of the sky
Clipped our wings and told us
You’re not a bird, you cannot fly
But what is a bird, anyway?
Can you satiate us with your definitions
And if you come to the conclusion
Birds are just “creatures with wings”, what then?
Will you see us, stitching cloth and fabric
To our backs to make us feel pretty again,
Will you rip those off, too?
Tell me, what exactly does a bird hater do?
How many podcasts will you record,
About pleasing your birdy murderer overlords?
How far will you fall into the need
To prove that you truly belonged somewhere?
How far will you go, please, I must know.
Will you shoot me in the street?
Will I end up in a cell somewhere,
And be gassed for my desire for wings?
Tell me, what exactly does a bird hater do,
What does one do when they’ve won?
I’ve seen what you do when you lose.
And I’m terrified of both outcomes.