Everyone makes mistakes.
I know I do.
There’s one in particular
That I’ll never forget.
It’s the day I was
A little blue baby bird.

We were in the auditorium
My cousin Rose and I.
We were playing and tweeting
In the safety of our nest.
We wanted to do something new,
Our nest was beginning to become boring.
So we searched.
Then we found
The Stairs.
They weren’t being used.
Just sitting in a lonely corner.
Mama had flown away for a minute,
So when no one was looking,
Rose started up the stairs.
Climbing the short distance
Until she reached the top
“I’m queen of the world!”
She tweeted, to no one in particular.
She flapped her little wings, trying to fly
It looked like fun.

I was jealous.
I wanted to fly, too.
So I started up the stairs
One at a time
Each step a little closer
To the top of the world.
When I reached the top
I imagined myself
Soaring, flapping,
Flying
Through another universe.
“I’m queen of the-”
All of a sudden,
I stepped wrong.
My foot touched nothing but air,
And I fell
Tumbling
I tried to flap
And stay in the air
But it didn’t work.
I landed on the cold floor
With a thump.
Right on my cheek.

Suddenly,
I was no longer a bird.
I was my human self again.
The gasping people must’ve taken me away
From my other world.
The pain shot through my cheek,
And I wailed
“Mama! Mama!”
Hot tears streamed down my face.
She couldn’t hear me.
Mama was far away, high in the sky
Soaring, like I wish I could.

Rose stood to the side
Watching as people tried to help.
I think she felt bad.
She shouldn’t have
Because it wasn’t her fault.

Later that evening,
My great grandma came to our cabin
To check on me.
I guess she heard about
My fall.
She examined me.
No broken bones.
No blood.
Just a bruised cheek,
And a dumb choice.