Little Bird
by Trisha Leone
It’s a picture of a little girl, my niece. She is holding a tiny bird in her hands, so careful not to squeeze it too tight. Her dark eyes are full of wonder at the life she holds. She can feel the tiny wings lightly brushing against her palms. She opens her hands, and it flies away. But it doesn’t fly far. It lands on the branch of a nearby willow bush. She follows, and it flies to another branch, and then another, leading her along until she hears the sound of her mother’s voice calling her back. She watches for the little bird to return. Every hummingbird she sees, she’s sure is the one.
Standing on her toes reaching for the sky, with her head up in the clouds, that’s how she learned to fly. From one place to another that little girl is grown up now and finding her way through this big old world. “Pay attention,” they say, “keep your feet on the ground,” but she keeps on going, never turning around, flying to the next branch, the barbed wire strand, making it up without much of a plan.
She always had a bit of an ornery streak, still does, a playfulness to test the waters and have a little fun. I remember one time when we were at the rodeo. She was supposed to be tending to the horses, but instead, she was kicking up dust in a mini gang she formed to terrorize little boys. One of the boys came up to the crow’s nest in tears, “Bonjobi is going to beat me up,” he cried. It didn’t take long for her mom and me to realize the boy was talking about Bobbi Jo. A short time later she appeared, pants tucked inside her cowboy boots with dirt on her face, and her cowboy hat pulled down tight over her tangled hair. With a look of innocence on her face, she fought back a smile, and while facing the charges, she planned her next move. “Get it together,” she heard over and over again. Get what together? She never really knew why everyone was worked up.
She won’t do what you expect. She’s like a summer rain that comes out of nowhere and catches you off guard. She’ll have you dancing in the rain, wishing on a star, and laughing so hard it hurts, at the funny side of life. Catch her if you can, she’ll slip right through your hands, from one branch to another, one moment to the next. It’s a life full of surprises, she likes it that way, and if the truth be known, so do I.
Song Lyrics
Little Bird
She’s holding a tiny bird in her hands
So careful not to squeeze too tight
Her big dark eyes are full of wonder
A beating heart so full of life
She opens her hands and it flies away
But it doesn’t fly too far
To another branch it leads her along
Now every bird she sees, she thinks it’s the one
She’s standing on her toes
And reaching for the sky
And you know, that’s how she learned to fly
Catch her if you can
She’ll slip right through your hands
She’s a little bird in a great big world
And she flies, she flies, she flies
She flies
She’s got her pants tucked in her boots
Her cowboy hat is pulled down tight
Pay attention girl, keep your feet on the ground
But she just keeps going, never turning around
She’s a summer rain that comes out of nowhere
Always catches me off guard
She makes me laugh at the funny side of life
Leaves me wishing on a star
Standing on her toes
she’s reaching for the sky
And you know, that’s how she learned to fly
Catch her if you can
She’ll slip right through your hands
She’s a little bird in a great big world
And she flies, she flies, she flies
She flies
