The Sparrow

I found a dead bird today. I was in the basement and looked out the window and saw it lying there on the bricks. It was a few feet away from the grass. It looked like it had just died in mid-air and fallen on its side.

Why do birds look so crumpled when they die? I guess everybody does. But their legs looks so weak and curled up. And their body and feathers suddenly just become limp looking, or flat. It couldn't have been dead that long.

I went outside and stood over it. I watched ants crawling over it. I was really hoping it's eyes hadn't been eaten away yet. Something about that really bothers me when you find something with its eyes gone. I was going to bury it. I was in my pajamas and ready to run across the lawn to get a shovel to bury it. But then I looked around at the little gardens all over the yard and couldn't figure out where I would bury it. I was afraid of my mom uprooting it when she was watering her plants and throwing it in a trashbag. Its pathetic. I couldn't bury it because I was afraid of my mom finding it.

I wish I woud've at least moved it onto the grass. But I didn't know what to do. So I left it. I just went back inside and left it there. Its sitting there now being eaten. The main reason I wanted to bury it is because I didn't want it to get eaten by a cat or another bird or something. It's eyes may already be gone, it doesn't deserve to lose its heart and organs and such too.

It had little white stars where its eyes were shut. Like white feathers growing around the eyes. It looked so small.