Bird-ened, burdens, a tail of a bird's end.

Sinuous strands stretched taut across the expanse of existence,

 A single life line in a sea of breathless void.

Frayed and thin, unwinding but unyielding,

One sliver of color against a blackened canvas.

Like a soft breath from a frail frame, life seeps as mist through the darkness,

Blindly searching for the light, pooling in troughs of space,

Clamoring for direction at the top of their lungs,

Filling the air with oppressive silence, drowned out by the groan of wordless intensity.

                                                         Caught between hope and despair,                         

A bird in a net

Heart-beat fluttering;

Wings against a ribbed cage,                                        
Feathers and twine, geometric shapes,

Sinuous and stretched,

Holding back,

Holding in,

Holding out the warmth of hope,

Breath held,

Waiting

                                                          Or

                                                          Forgotten.