Why do birds sing?
Are they happy?
Or so full of sorrow
That they seep sadness out
In chirps and peeps?
What is the meaning of their various songs?

The path of the Sage is twofold, they say-
Loved and adored,
Or walking away into the woods, never to be seen again.

I have walked silently by the brook,
Listened to it's rumbling overture,
Overheard the overtones of the birds.
I've walked in time and in tune
With the melodic muse,
Mimicked the foreign opera
Until I learned it note for note.

And though I do not understand the words,
The sounds and deep vibrations that I've heard and felt
Are just as much a part of me
As the wild blackberries and honey I ate out there.

And I could tell you why the birds sing,
But you wouldn't understand me,
Because it's something that has to be felt,
And one can only experience it.
And in an unexpressable way,
Be moved to keep the deep and beautiful secret to oneself.

-jenn