My favorite bird is the red winged blackbird
Its distinctive warble brings back memories,
Of a childhood spent in fields and streams
The serenity of sun and sky,
A cool brook rippling out of the dark woodland
Into a sea of amber reeds, grasses and cattails
Winding its trout laden waters
Into the hazy summer horizon
A huge twin Norway pine tree grew in this midst
Like two giant Immortals entwined in Paradise
Blessed by Apollo,
Instructed by Zeus.
When I die and find myself stranded in the void
I'll listen for the song of the red winged blackbird
And if this life's fortune
Brings favor in the worlds beyond,
I'll hear his call
And know that Heaven can't be far away
