dave steger

the sparrow's sad silent song

in a place i don't know
wish to never ever go
she was born
'neath haystacks
and vacant dreams

her first memory
a sparrow
whom feather broken
became her friend
loved her out of necessity
though she need not know that then

when the storms came
and the Midwest darkened
its already dreary soul
her father read her fairytales
amongst the clamor of thunder
and kindling cracking

the stories-
the heroine
always made her hurt
her father was no prince
her mother ceased to exist

sometimes late into the night
when her smile slowly fades
she'll say
"an imagination is no place for reality"

she was a runaway
with every right to stay away
now she's a glowing city girl
her past only present
when the rain beats her down
or a sparrow sings her sad silent song