Fledgling - Ben Caplan

Once there was a mama bird who flew across the sea

Carrying her fledgling young aloft upon the breeze

Time had come to migrate as a chill fell on the land

The fledglings were too weak to fly, too young to understand

Mama took them on her back, the three into the sky

They set upon a journey with a prayer and a sigh

Mama, where do we fly?

Where are we welcome and where will we thrive?

Mama, where do we fly?

Where are we going and will we survive?

The journey was exhausting but at last, a shore was found

The fledglings leapt off mama as she crashed into the ground

It took some time to learn how to adapt to the new clime

But food was found, and shelter, and it felt stable in time

The family was grateful to survive another day

But they missed the life they had and all their friends so far away

Mama, where do we fly?

Where are we welcome and where will we thrive?

Mama, where do we fly?

Where are we going and will we survive?

As years passed, other families from other far-off lands

Began to cross the ocean and to wash up on the sand

The fledglings and the neighbours felt themselves to be as one

They scarcely could identify with new birds on the run

They feared that all the new birds would bring violence and disease

Despite an old familiar song aloft upon the breeze

Mama, where do we fly?

Where are we welcome and where will we thrive?

Mama, where do we fly?

Where are we going and will we survive?