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The Hogarth Experiment Part 6

It is strongly recommended you read Parts 1- 5 before reading this.

Professor Hogarth watched in horror,
at the returning insects
and what they were carrying.
He questioned himself
about what he had done.
His experiment had gone
well beyond what he dreamt.
It had created a horror unimaginable.
Somehow, they had to be stopped
before it went too far,
if it had not happened all ready.
He had to inform the authorities
and tell them everything.
The monstrous creations
had to be destroyed
or the world would be in peril.
Hogarth picked up the telephone,
telephoned the police station,
and explained to the Inspector in charge
everything that had happened.
He said he needed to talk
to someone from the Government,
as these monsters had to be destroyed.
The Inspector said that he would
report everything to the Army
as they were in charge of the situation.
They would be around to see him that night.
Hogarth replaced the telephone
and sat down to wait for the night to call.

Raymond Constantine sat beside the driver
and watched in horror at what was going on.
If the soldiers had not fired upon the swarm
they would have merely passed overhead.
Having killed one the release
of pheromone from its body
acted as an alarm
causing the rest to become more aggressive
and stinging anything near.
All they could do
was to wait and sit it out.
To venture outside of the vehicle
would be certain death.

Hogarth waited and waited.
Slowly the sun began to set.
He could see their silhouetted form
in the moon light returning to the nest.
The forms that they were carrying
made him shudder with despair.
He watched the time
as the hours ticked by.
He felt like telephoning back to the station
and asking where his visitors were.
A knock on the front door
answered his question.
He answered it and let
Captain Alex Walker and Raymond Constantine in.
They explained why they were late.
That they had been attacked and had to wait.
Hogarth explained to them, his experiment
and how he had suffered a heart attack three years previous.
Then how this year things had been growing larger
than normal including the wasps.
He could only guess that there was a nest
under his shed when it was destroyed
and that the experimental serum had leaked into it.
That it had taken three generations of wasps
before it altered their genetic structure
to make them grow as large as they have.
He could only speculate
that they could even grow larger
in future generation.
Constantine nodded
as Hogarth spoke.
His theory sounded wild and imaginative.
He would have taken it as a flight of fancy
had he not seen it for himself.
They had to be destroyed
and quickly before the new queens
had a chance of escaping
and starting new nests.
As they knew where the nest was located,
preparations had to be made
to eradicate completely.
Hogarth and everyone who lived within the house
would have to be evacuated
while this was done.
Evacuation would have to take place tonight.
At HQ Constantine explained
the situation to the chief of staffs
that had gathered.
The RAF would be able to shoot them
out of the skies
as they emerged from the nest in the morning.
On the ground, the Army
would gather flamethrowers
to ensure that the nest was burnt.
It would take a couple of days to prepare.

Over the next couple of days,
the Army gathered a unit of armoured flamethrowers
into the valley
and positioned them around
the opening of the nest.
As the nest would be made of paper,
it should burn quickly.
The only worry they would have
is those within the nest
would come out and swarm.
When this happened,
the flamethrowers would concentrate
on the swarm.
The RAF fighters would shoot
as many as they could down.
The operation would commence
the following morning.

To be concluded…

5 November 2007

poem by David Harris
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The Hogarth Experiment Part 7

The first streaks for dawn
broke across the Wye Valley.
The Armoured Flamethrowers were poised
around the giant wasps nest.
Just as the sky began to lighten,
pushing away the darkness of the night
the first wasp climbed from the nest.
Long spouts of flame poured over it.
As its body was engulfed in flame
out of the nest, more wasps swarmed.
Suddenly the sky darkened again.
Several RAF bases were scrambled.
Spitfires and Hurricanes crowded the skies.
This time the enemy
was not the Luftwaffe, but insects.
The pilots where not sure what tactics
they were to use
or how the insects were going to react.
They swooped low down the valley
just skimming the treetops.
Then suddenly they were confronted with the enemy.
They peeled off in different directions choosing a target.
The manoeuvrability of the insects was unexpected.
They swerved, dived, hovered
and even seem to reverse.
Several tried to sting the aircrafts.
As more and more the wasps were shot down,
more replaced them.
Several of the aircraft crashed
as more than one wasp landed on them.
Spouts of fames stretched into the sky
from the flamethrowers below.
A second wave of aircraft
flew into the affray,
they seemed to be swarmed by wasps.
Several of the pilots few upwards
drawing a number of the wasps with them.
Aircraft and wasps darted around
the crowed sky in arial combat never before witnessed.
Hundreds of wasps fell from the sky
and were quickly replaced by hundreds more.
As the aircraft began running short of fuel,
they few away from the fight
and others were brought in.
On the ground, the Armoured Flamethrowers
were being attacked as well.
The wasps crawled over the machines
trying to find a way in.
Smoke began to rise from the nest
as more and more wasps lifted into the air.
Quite a number were met
by long stems of flames that engulfed their bodies.
Several with their bodies still alight rose
and smashed into oncoming aircraft
and both plummeted to the ground.
A black cloud from the burning
nest and corpses of the insects rose high above the valley.
Hour after hour, they fought
before the number of wasps decreased.
After six hours, the fight was over.
Bodies of wasps littered the fields
where cattle once grazed.
The RAF flew the length and breath of the valley
to ensure that there were no surviving giant wasps.
Soldiers with flamethrowers walked over the fields
burning every wasp they came across.
None was to be left alive.
The nest had a constant jet of flame poured into it.
When ever it seemed that the fames was going out
gallons of petrol was tipped down the hole of the nest
and the flamethrowers ignited it.
All through the night
and late into the following day
the process was kept up.
They could not afford a
ny eggs or any of the queens to survive.
Finally, it was over.
The charred remains of the wasp’s corpses
were buried in deep pit.
A week after the battle was over
only small scars on the landscape were noticeable.
A year later there were no traces
of what had happened there in the summer of 1945
and life in the Wye Valley returned to normal.
Professor Hogarth sat in his favourite chair
and watched his garden begin to grow again.
Several times, he could have sworn
he thought he saw shadows.
He put them down to his imagination.

The end.

Author’s note:

Although this has been, a work of fiction of which he hopes the readers has derived some pleasure in reading. I wish to leave everyone with this thought. As the world is increasing yearly in population. More and more plants are being genetically modified to increase crop yields. As insects feed off plants and other insects feed off them. One can never tell if the genetic structure of those insects will, itself be modified. We know that it takes generations for species to mutate. What we do not know is whether they are mutating now somewhere in the world. Which leaves us with the question. What if?

David Verdun Harris

6 November 2007

poem by David Harris
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The Hogarth Experiment Part 5

Peter levelled the shotgun
at the insect as big as a sheep
and pulled the trigger and again.
The blast knocked
the beast away from his father.
He quickly reloaded
as another giant insect
came close to his father.
The creature spun sideways
as the shot hit it.
Both creatures rose to their feet.
His father picked up the pitchfork
and jammed it deep
into the first insects head.
The insect wobbled on its legs
before collapsing dead.
The other moved giant insect
towards the fallen insect.
Peter had reloaded the shotgun
and fired both barrels at the head
of the advancing insect.
The head of it seemed to explode.
Peter reloaded the shotgun again.
His father ran towards him
pushing out of the way
of another giant insect.
They scrambled to their feet
and ran to the farmhouse.
They bolted the door
and moved to the window.
What they saw astonished them.
More and more giant insects landed
and seem to examine the fallen ones.
They then lifted them into the air and flew off.
John looked at his son.
Their battle was over.
All the giant insects disappeared
along with the two they had killed.
John went across to the phone
and telephoned the police.
He told them what had happened,
half expecting them to laugh.
They asked for his address
and said they would be sending
some people out to him.
They told him to remain inside with his family
and keep the windows and doors
locked until they arrived.
An hour passed and several armoured personnel carriers
stopped in the farmyard.
A dozen or more troops
emerged from the vehicles.
The Officer in charge
deployed them around the vehicles
before he and a short spectacled man
came to the door of the farmhouse.
John Fairchild let them in.
The short spectacled man introduced himself
as Raymond Constantine from Cambridge University
where he taught about insects.
The reason why they took so long to get there
was that he had to be flown down from Cambridge.
He asked if they could describe the insects
that they had battled with.
As they old him, Constantine frowned.
He then asked how many did they see?
John wasn’t sure,
but he estimated over twenty.
Constantine face grew paler.
He knew what kind of insects
had attacked them
and that very thought of that worried him.
He then asked what size they were.
John’s answer frightened Constantine even more
when he told him they were as large as sheep.
Constantine turned to the Captain
and said they must get back to HQ.
He then turned to John
and warned him
that he must not go out in the daytime.
Evenings and at night were Ok,
but not during the day.
Constantine and the Captain then left.

On he journey back to HQ
Constantine kept his eyes on the skies.
The insect John Fairchild had told him about
were social insects
and lived in nests of up to ten thousand workers.
Their nests were in a hole the ground.
The problem was going to be to locate the nest
and kill all the occupants,
but mainly the queen.
She would have to be destroyed.
Several times, he thought he saw something,
but they were merely birds.
As the continued, deeper into the valley
a humming sound arose around them,
slowly getting louder and louder.
Constantine turned to the driver
and shouted at him to stop.
The sky turned from blue to black
as a mass of insects flew overhead.
Constantine’s face turned ashen
with horror at what he saw.
Several of the insects seemed
to be carrying human bodies.
Others had small animals.
Several of the soldiers left the armoured vehicles
and were firing at the insects.
Sudden they swarmed them.

To be continued…

poem by David Harris
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The Hogarth Experiment Part 1

The year was 1942 and the war in Europe
raged on relentlessly.
Each day men were killed
in battlefields far away.
In a sleepy little hamlet
tucked deep in the Wye Valley,
in a converted shed behind his home
Professor Robert Hogarth worked
in his makeshift laboratory.
His hope was to develop a stimulant
to make plants grow larger and quicker,
thus helping with the food shortage.

Outside the storm clouds gathered
extinguishing the light of the sun.
In the distance, there were rumbles
as the thunder began to roar.
Hogarth worked feverishly
on his latest experiment
as it was almost done.
A pain shot through him,
he gasped and gave out a short cry.
As he fell, he knocked his experiment
across the wooden floor.
The container holding his latest experiment
shattered and its contents leaked
through the floor spilling over everything beneath.
The flame from his Bunsen burner
began a fire that raced out of control.
Flames licked around the building
charring everything in sight.

To be continued…

poem by David Harris
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A Nest of Wasps

Closing the garage door
a wasp was flying past my head
but strangely it didn’t come for me
and for the first time
I saw a nest on the door
where there were plenty more,
some more small red stinging wasps.

At first I thought that the nest
was empty and when I reach for it
six more wasps flew past my head
and I drew my hand back instead.

By careful inspection
I saw many more wasps
sitting at the back of the nest
and these pests
were sure to sting somebody
time and time again,
but why they were avoiding me
I still do not know.

I couldn’t leave the nest there
and had to get them all dead
and yet somehow I pitied it
and which I could just instead
let them be.

poem by Gert Strydom
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The Hogarth Experiment Part 2

The fire raged out of control
and into the night.
Its glow coloured the sky.
Chemicals exploded
as they warmed to boiling point.
Hogarth’s assistant Adam Wright
pulled Hogarth from the flames
and across the lawn.
The clanging of bells
from the Fire Brigade and Ambulance
were soon to be heard.
Hogarth was rushed to hospital
where he would stay for just over a month.
His makeshift laboratory laid
a charred skeleton on his return.
All his work was gone,
destroyed in the fire.
He was a broken man.
He became a recluse in his home.
His hair turned white overnight.
He just sat everyday in his chair
and looked out the window
from dawn to dusk.
No one could reach him;
it was as if his will to live was gone.

Three years later and Hogarth hadn’t changed.
He would get up every morning
and in his chair would sit.
The war in Europe was over
and celebrations now had begun.
The mighty Germany had fallen;
its leader Hitler was now dead.
Soon the troops would be coming home.
The VE day celebrations were getting well into swing.
While on a farm not far from the valley
something strange was happening.
Ernest Rotherham went out to bring in his cattle
from grazing for milking time.
The sight that greeted his eyes made him cry.
There spread across the field
his cattle lay dead everywhere.
He ran back to his farm
and telephoned for the Vet.
The Vet was on call at the moment,
but on his return, they would send him out.

About twenty miles away
Joe Harper the local Vet
was driving down a county lane.
Bushes grew tall on either side
and from behind them;
he could hear a loud hum.
He stopped the car,
but left the engine running.
He opened the door,
got out and peered through the bushes.
A sharp pain like a knife pierced his back.

To be continued…

poem by David Harris
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Build Your Nest

Build yo' nest
Build yo' nest
Build yo' nest
Build yo' nest on tenderness

The nest is yo' home and launcin' pad
Vibes ain't good gotcha' feelin' sad

Build yo' nest on love that tells it all
Gives you the strength to walk mighty tall

With a song in yo' heart most every day

song performed by by Earth Wind & Fire
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Uninvited Guest

(music: marillion lyrics: steve hogarth & john helmer)
You may not recall the moment that you asked me
But your invitation was clear
Youll pretend youve never met me
But its far to late
Now Im here
Cause Im the one who knows what scares you
Im the one who loves you best
Im the thirteenth at the table
Im the uninvited guest
Im the banquo at your banquet
Im the cuckoo in your nest
Im your fifteen stone first-footer
Im the uninvited guest
I was there when you said insincere I love yous
To a woman that wasnt your wife
And I fronted you the money
That you ran away and blew
On the biggest regret of your live
Cause Im the one who knows what scares you
Im the who loves you best
Im the thirteenth at the table
Im the uninvited guest
Im the banquo at your banquet
Im the cuckoo in your nest
Im your new years resolution
Im the uninvited guest
Im the face you hoped youd never see
But always knew you would
Im the one thing you knew you shouldnt do
But did because you could
Im the evil in your bloodstream
Im the rash upon your skin
And you made a big mistake alright
The day you let me in
And you can fly to the other side of the world
You know youll only find
Ive reserved the seat behind you
We can talk about old times
Cause Im the one who knows what scares you
Im the who loves you best
Im the thirteenth at the table
Im the uninvited guest
Im the banquo at your banquet
Im the cuckoo in your nest
Im your fifteen stone first-footer
Im the uninvited guest
Im you new years resolution
Im the uninvited guest

song performed by by Marillion
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Build Your Nest

Maurice white & verdine white
Build yo nest
Build yo nest
Build yo nest
Build yo nest on tenderness
The nest is yo home and launcin pad
Vibes aint good gotcha feelin sad
Build yo nest on love that tells it all
Gives you the strength to walk mighty tall
With a song in yo heart most every day,
Is what you need along the way
Things get rough, pain comes around
Put up yo dukes, knock it to the ground
If it get back up, do it over again
Smack it hard on its chinny-chin-chin
Now things around you cant do you no wrong
Think about love in yo happy home

song performed by by Earth Wind And Fire
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Just as bees will swarm about to protect their nest, so will I 'swarm about' to protect my nest of chocolate eggs.

Jack Handey in Deep Thoughts
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Heavy Heart I Burry Them

Whoosh, whoosh, whap!
A hungry Eagle destroyed their nest
High up and up
Their mom, captured, away from nest
Turning back not
Had become an Eagle’s meal.
Little ones orphaned
Wingless and scared,
Escape, they had tried
Thud, had fallen to ground
One, a leg broken, head smashed
Another, out were intestines
Pity, pity, up I pick them
Cupped in my palms, lifeless
Up, the tree
Their nest, a ruined home
Heavy heart heaving
I bury them, no ceremony, nothing
An Ant, a meal it had seen!

poem by Charles Jagongo Ogola
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As There Aren`t Safe Nests...

A migrating bird chirps into my ears,
'Can you make a nest for me that will be safe for ever? '
I don`t know what he means by a safe nest
For my nest has been on the verge of a collapse.
He flies away dreaming about a safe nest.
That leaves me with a question, ' Where to fix a safe nest? '
Safe nests should never be on the branches of trees
For trees themselves are tormented by storms and quakes.
Safe nests shouldn`t be on the roofs of man`s homes either
For his mischevious kids may throw away the eggs.
Safe nests should not be under the water or in the skies
For the fury and the terror of these elements are disastrous.
Safe nests shouldn`t be anywhere that eyes see or ears hear
For there are humans living on this earth.
You migrate my dear bird to anywhere you feel it safe
And never return to these unsafe homes.

poem by M.d Dinesh Nair
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Nest

Far and wide I may travel,
Explore places, experience people,
But when I need a place to rest,
I head back to my nest.

Now I am at the edge with wings spread,
ready to fly to a new high
But in my heart I know
No matter how many caps I wear
My nest will always be here.

Here are people I hold dear
who I wish to be near
Here I learnt and fought to make a career.
Here I grew strong with nothing to fear.
Here I learnt to fight and when necessary bear.
Here emotions are felt beyond words one can hear.
Here a smile's always ready to greet each silent tear.
This is where my soul resides.
I refuse to become a guest,
When I come back to my nest.

A new life and beginning, a loved one all await
luring me to the west,
Yet my feet stumble as I try leaving my nest.

The future calls, full of promises
of offering me the best
But I feel, I already have it all
right here in my nest.

Why to risk leaving
what if I fail the test?
A bird in hand is worth two in the bush
I cling to the comfort of the nest.

There's a new feeling though
of a need to build
something of my own
So that to someone someday
I too may say
If you need a place for love and care
a shelter from the world's stare
where dreams you may share
and lay your heart bare
To you I can offer
with pride in my chest
Come in, take shelter,
For this is your nest.

poem by Dipti Date Gokhale
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The Hogarth Experiment Part 4

Professor Robert Hogarth sat
and looked out the window,
what he saw each day amazed him.
Where the remnants of his burnt out laboratory,
he watch each day the quickness of the new growth there.
Tiny shrubs were the next day mature plants.
He noted in his journal,
which kept hidden, everything he saw.
Each day the remains of his laboratory
slowly disappeared from sight under a sea of green foliage.
It was not only the plants
that were growing out of proportion.
Other things much more scary had begun to appear.
These made him order that none of his staff
go out during the day under any circumstance.

It was almost dusk when the empty battery was found.
The police notified the Army,
but couldn’t give them no explanation
as to why the soldiers had disappeared,
other than all three men were gone
leaving behind their belongs and their guns.
The Army’s reply was that they would send
their own investigation team down in the morning.

The reports of animal deaths and human disappearances
were mounting and the police were mystified.
They went to the unusual step
of arming their officers on the beat.
Each had to sign for a weapon
and ten round of ammunition
before leaving the station.
Not knowing the threat that had come to the valley,
they were not taking chances.
It was felt that just a truncheon was not enough protection
from what ever was doing the killings adductions.

The night was quiet and no new incidents were reported.
However as the dawn broke
a humming sound broke the stillness of the morning.
John Fairchild and his son Peter
came out of the barn
as several shadows passed over them.
John told his son to get back indoors
as he ran into the barn and grabbed a pitchfork.
Peter ran as fast as he could
to the farmhouse without looking back.
Getting inside he closed the door
and raced to the window to look outside.
He saw his father fighting a giant insect with the pitchfork.
Peter went to the living room
and grabbed his father’s shotgun from the wall,
then went to the drawer where the shotgun shells were kept.
He shoved as many as he could
in his pockets and loaded two into the gun.
He opened the door
to see one of the insects
had knocked his father to the ground
and had its stinger poised.

To be continued…

poem by David Harris
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No One Can

(music: marillion lyrics: steve hogarth)
You landed in my life
Like a new and brighter light
That made all my past seem in the shadow
I always used to believe
That beauty was skin deep
But I need a new world to describe you
And the time that it took to take down the wall
Was the time that it took for me to fall
Hopelessly weak
No one can take you away from me now
Dont worry if they take me away
No one can take you away from me now
Dont matter how long we have to wait
The days before you came
Were really all the same
A greyness I used to call freedom
Endless nights out with the boys
The boasting and the noise
To think that I ever believed them
No one can take you away from me now
Dont worry if they take me away
No one can take me away from me now
Dont matter how long we have to wait
I dont care what they think
Youre all I believe in
I carry you here
And theres something of you
In everything that I love
No one can take you away from me now
Dont worry if they take me away
No one can take me away from me now
Dont matter how long we have to wait
No one can take you away from me now
Dont worry if they take me away

song performed by by Marillion
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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SONNET: And This is Life!

Two Birds, a male and female met at last;
They found the tree on which to build their nest;
But soon, their little ones came rather fast;
The Birds hadn’t time for love-making or rest!

The Wind blew strongly; scorching was the Sun;
The Rain fell heavily upon their nest;
Rearing the young ones was both strain and fun;
Even a Snake came to their nest as guest1

But God helped them to find the worms for food;
And Spring replaced the Winter’s freezing cold;
The Birds laboured all life as best as could;
Their young ones turned adults; and they grew old!

When Death came like a robber in the night,
Both Birds never offered the slightest fight!

poem by John Celes
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It Comes - Part 6

(It is suggested that the reader reads Parts 1,2,3,4 and 5 first)

Naval fighters in the vicinity of the Coast Guard flight
last known position flew towards it.
Reaching the area, they noticed
the blue light moving north and commenced their first attack.
Rockets were fired.
Great fountains of water sprouted into the air
as the rockets exploded beneath the surface.
The blue light seemed unaffected
and continued moving northward.
A second attack was launched
and further fountains of water reached out of the sea.

Slowly the blue light got smaller
as the creature dived deeper under the waves.
The fighters returned to base
to be debriefed and have their aircraft refuelled and rearmed.
Military Chiefs concurred that the rockets exploded at depths,
which could not reach the creature.
The only other way was to time the rockets
to explode with delays.

Work began on modifying the rockets
on all search aircraft.
It was tried to estimate how far down
the creature would be swimming
and how long it would take the rockets to reach it.
Each night squadrons comprising of five aircraft to search the seas.

Another month passed before the blue light was again spotted.
Naval fighters from several different countries
moved towards the position.
The first five fighters there commenced their attack.
Rockets were fired hit the water caused splashes
without exploding.
The seconds passed as the aircraft
swooped upwards out of their dive.
As they reached the top of their climb,
the rockets exploded throwing up great fountains of water
and pieces of something.
As the sea calmed a large stain that appeared red
under the moonlight surrounded the area.
The blue light had disappeared.

Deep below the surface
eyes watched as bits of the creature gently floated down.
Some pieces were intercepted by sharks.
Their eyes closed in temporary sadness.
The experiment had been a failure.
One day they would be back to try again.

The End……or is it?

3 October 2009

Author’s Note.

If you have read It Comes and enjoyed it, you might like to read other cliffhanging pieces I have written. The titles are as follows and how many parts there are.

An Invitation To Tea (A Dark Comedy) (3 Parts)
Casebook Of Oliver Cyriax 1# The Burning Bush (4 Parts)
Eyes Of Mr D (5 Parts)
The Hogarth Experiment (6 Parts)

poem by David Harris
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First Flight

Brand new baby birds in a nest
don't you fall to the ground.
For there are too many predators waiting
and quietly lurking around.

Don't leave your nest 'til you can fly.
Be patient and bide your time.
Then when you feel your wings are strong
then out of your nest you'll climb.

Now see what you were born for.
Flap your wings and soar into the air.
The sky's the limit for such as you.
As for me I can only stare.

poem by Edwina Reizer
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When a lost bird flies to your roost in the fog

'You are very familiar but I think that you have missed your particular nest.'
The kind bird said.
'Yes, I know my dear but my nest is no more as it's scattered by the Easterly winds.
And I think a lone bird never let me go away isn't it? ' The beautiful singing bird questioned.
'You are most welcome sweet but my nest is not strong enough for the two of us and I have little doubts about the coming hurricane.' The kind lone bird replied
'Let the wind blows and take us away but not alone, now we could start singing together from the place where you have stopped.' And she smiled.

* To Alison & Jerry..................!

poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
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The Happy Bird’s Nest

When on my cottage falls the placid shower,
When ev'ning calls the labourer home to rest,
When glad the bee deserts the humid flower,
O then the bird assumes her peaceful nest.

When sable shadows grow unshapely tall,
And Sol's resplendent wheel descends the west,
The knell of respiration tolls for all,
And Hesper smiles upon the linnet's nest.

When o'er the mountain bounds the fair gazell,
The night bird tells her day-departing jest,
She gladly leaves her melancholy dell,
And spreads her pinions o'er the linnet's nest.

Then harmless Dian spreads her lucid sail,
And glides through ether with her silver crest,
Bidding the watchful bird still pour her tale,
And cheer the happy linnet on her nest.

Thus may some guardian angel bear her light,
And o'er thy tomb, departed genius, rest,
Whilst thou shalt take thy long eternal flight,
And leave some faithful bird to guard thy nest.

poem by George Moses Horton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Bird And Its Nest

there is no bird
that spends its lifetime
in a nest

there is no nest made
of concrete

the fledglings look forward
to the pain of its first wing

there is always the first push
and the fall

and there is the innate way
of learning how to fly

poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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