Begin Again

As I walked along the shore on a sunny day
I overheard a man listening to a swan say
‘If you’ve lived quite a life, I’ve a tale too,
If you tell me yours, I’ll reveal mine to you’
The man said, ‘I’m a country boy from Tennessee
And I never seen any bird that could speak’
The swan said, ‘It’s not in my heredity,
But my father was a trumpeter who flew upstream’
The man said, ‘I don’t believe it; this is a dream’
But the bird replied, ‘I’m as real as your speech;
Did you love your life or was it just out of reach?’
He frowned as he looked down on the ground
While he spoke of growing up in his country town
At 18 he went on his way with an offer from the USA
He decided to enlist and eventually became a green beret
Twenty years later, he retired to a piece of his shire
Consisting of the sand in between his feet and those he sired
The man said, ‘Life is full of regret for those I admired;
I wished to be a famous athlete only to retire,
But now I’m fortunate to be a little league umpire.
Here I am talking to a bird and I feel a little absurd
But the bird replied, ‘I’m only here for a comforting word,
With the wind beneath my wings, on I spurred,
Past lakes, peninsulas, wetlands, and forest fires,
On I flew with my group until we were tired,
But the one thing that I never did see
Was a happy man who loved his deeds’
‘Tell me old friend, are you really free
And do you wish that you could fly like me?’
The man thought to himself and questioned the query
Looking over at this bird who seemed to be wary
Then he said, ‘I seen my share of the world’s speed,
But I’ve yet to see it’s integrity, only greed.’
The Swan said, ‘Now you know why birds fly,
It’s the only place on earth where man can’t multiply.’
The man chuckled at the notion and thought to himself
‘This bird has his health as his wealth,
I sought the world and what did I find
A swan with more wisdom than the blind’
As the bird flew away so did the man
He realized that he hadn’t lived, and so he began