To Every Bird I've Said Hello To

To every bird I've said hello to As I paced along the sidewalk With my shoulders broad and gridlocked From standing there alone Building signposts for the neighbors From their honeysuckle ceilings Such safe and neutral feelings Some settled in the bones To every cardinal out my window Still waiting for a tether Some say others have it better Whatever gets you there Dropping feathers for the strangers Glued like shadows to their footprints As if your coat could go unnoticed In this ashen open air As if I'd write you off as just another Mourning dove with faded colors As if that dove had nothing on my jeans Like I hope through every thin and narrow Alleyway I'd find a sparrow Lonely enough to sing a song for me To every pigeon in the subway Too drawn in by tornadoes Of human flesh and shadows To long to meet the sky Every time the train car seizes And lurches from the station I close my eyes through the vibration And dream that I could fly