The Swarm

Inspired by a dream.

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You see, I was sitting at my desk.
Then I heard a tap, tap, tap
on the window, I looked and saw,
A large black bird looking right at me.

This room I was in, it was a mix of rooms.
My room, with the bed and main desk.
A classroom, with the tables.
That's how it turned out to be.

I sunk in my seat, hoping the bird would go.
But no, it found its way inside the place.
It screeched, squawked, and cackled.
Waddled between people's legs.

Soon there were more.
More birds, black birds.
I was frightened.
We're surrounded.

A voice soon spoke to me
and I jumped to my feet.
I ran to the windows
and swung them open.

I shouted, "Go! Go! Go!
Be free! Please! Go already!"
Little by little, they left.
Those black, black birds.

The voice was right,
the birds left.
One by one, they flew.
We were safe.

A man appeared with a net
He also had several crates.
I worried about the birds.
There were still a few left.

The man caught two.
He asked about the others,
With a devious grin, he claimed,
"There's twenty more, you see."

I felt something nudge my knee.
I was at my desk and found a bird.
I told the man, I knew no more.
I knew not what he spoke of.

I hid the bird.
We waited and
waited. Then he left.
I held the bird.

With the black bird, I ran.
I ran outside to search,
to search for its friends.
Several were flying up high.

I found others, trapped by the man.
They seemed so helpless to me.
I felt despair, released my bird,
and ran to the trapped birds.

I kicked, gnawed, and fumbled
with the lock.
Useless efforts and wasted time.
Those poor birds.

The black birds stared at me.
With those big, doleful eyes.
I was deeply saddened.
It was all my fault.

I shouldn't have called the man.
They just got lost, is all.
I should have released them,
a whole lot sooner than planned.

Soon, I found myself in a cage.
Equally trapped, within my own mind.
I yelled and screamed and shook
the chain linked fence that kept me in.

After a long while, I felt tired.
I closed my eyes and woke up
to the smell of eggs wafting
right towards my direction.