A bathroom and a bird

I have a bird on my bathroom floor

He hatched as a spot, a scratch, an eye
Where the furnace vent fell over
And over

He fledged
When someone took hold and
Picked
At the jagged edge and
P u l l e d

I found the patch
The blackstrap scrap
Dropped by a child at the intersection of art and conscience

But art was the stronger
And called her back, creeping to pull and pull again
At a long black crescent
That set a bird free

If I had the wisdom of Solomon
I could tell which artist was involved
And what to do

My training was too neutral
And gender-specific
For bathroom bird removal
And perhaps that is the whole problem with me

I do not know how to fix
Only how
To see

I have a bird on my bathroom floor
And I do not know.

What to do with him

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6 years ago

Wonderful! In my bathroom, I had a large R scratched into the paint, which was neither so cute nor so difficult to find the small offender.

6 years ago

I love the humor

anjshowalter
6 years ago

Leave it as a reminder that the bird (picker) will one day leave the nest. Paint some pink hearts and curlicues around it to make it look special!

Lovina
6 years ago

My first thought was that it’s close enough to the commode for someone with the other gender specific training to decide to use it for a target Hope your boys are too mature for that!?

Admin
6 years ago
Reply to  Lovina

Your hopeful optimism is unwarranted. Thanks, though.

Lisa
6 years ago

I love it! (both the bird and the poetry)

Laura Showalter
6 years ago

Add this artful poem to your bathroom decor.? Well done.

6 years ago

Oh the humor of it all☺
I admit it’s rather cute and it should stay but will the rest of the family find it cute after awhile?

6 years ago

I love love love this! This is a poem after my own heart. Taking a blemish and giving it wings (literally).

I dare you to say “blackstrap scrap” really fast 5 times.

6 years ago

I love the poem, too–the coping with and appreciating the unchangeable. I’m practical to a fault, and so two of the cars in my past (both black) sported electrical tape on them to cover screw holes or rust spots. It was waterproof and wore for a long time. So my only recommendation is go for it instead of duct tape if waterproofing is important to your floor. it might get picked at, too, but you can always replace it whenever you spring or fall or (like me, I hope) decade house clean.

Gladys
6 years ago

Use clear see through package tape so you still have the bird.

Vivian T
6 years ago

You could fill it with (clear or tinted) epoxy. It will still show if you want it to, and won’t become a puddle-catcher.

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