Find a finch, landed on the chair beside you
its panting signals its fear.
Resist the temptation to close your hands around its rumpled feathers.
You must allow it to fly to the light and bump against the glass.
Say a prayer that it will stay conscious through the hard knocks against the cold windows.
Wait for it to land, still panting on the ground.
Give it space.
Then, slide forward.
Close off the path back into the darkness of the brewery.
Gently move the chairs, the pillows, out of the corner where the finch has flown to hide.
Reveal the little bird in all its perfect beauty,
still panting, still frantic to hide.
Open the doors to the outside.
Feel the gentle breeze on your skin.
Ask the bird to feel the rustle of air in its feathers.
Allow the bird to flutter against the glass again and again.
Be patient that the bird finds you frightening, when all you want to give it is love.
Place your hands by its side.
When at last it’s too exhausted, it will let you guide it slowly to the door.
Feel the brush of its little feathers like the fingers of a toddler who grasps at your legs for balance.
Warn the others not to get too close, not to close their hands over the frightened creature.
Let the bird find its way outside,
To the light, to the air, to the wind that lifts it up into the sky,
To the sun that warms our hearts.
Let the bird find its own form of freedom.
That is where your freedom flies.
—Emily Romano
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