The Birdman of Alcatraz

Once I was a plenipotentiary
but I committed a major crime
and now I was in a U.S. penitentiary
where I will be for a long time.

Waiting for my sentence to end,
I was put in solitary confinement
together with a feathered friend
which gave me some contentment

In my cell there was a gilded cage,
with a canary, perched on a swing.
As he was oblivious to my rage,
all day long serenely he would sing.

Why must an innocent bird do time
just to be a companion to a convict
who is in jail to expiate his crime
and whose mood one cannot predict.

I felt as if I was committing treason
to keep him in captivity with me;
surely there was no rhyme or reason
why I should not restore his liberty.

If you want to go, here is your chance
my plumed friend, I said, just take flight
and let us not make a song and dance
as an unfettered freedom is your right.

Without a backward glance he then flew
away, to savour  a newly found release;
it was the crucial moment when I knew
that finally my soul would be at peace. 

© Luigi Pagano 2023