Freedom's Song

One crisp September day two men in blue,

The wind whipping their jackets to and fro,

Between them held the summer's falcon fast,

Then with a hopeful smile they let it go.

Released, the falcon cried and diving flew

Down between the silver towers, to rise

Again on warm air currents. Freedom!

It soared in dizzy delight the autumn skies;

And came to rest outside a rooftop restaurant -

An elegant glass aerie where no winds stir -

Like a golden sentinel, one eye proudly

Surveying its domain, the other watching . . . her:

A girl within, eating lunch calls "Mommy Look!

Magic!" And so it was. A minor miracle.

Some thing passed between them then -

Something ineffable, ultimately unknowable.

They eye each other amazed 'til the falcon, with

A mighty cry, into the future makes

A leap of faith. The great bird flies north, then west,

Then north again - past other towers, and fields, and lakes.

The silver towers are gone - a distant memory, but

A never to be forgotten feeling - a kind of wonder!

And the girl? Walking home or to school, her head high,

Keeps freedom's song, locked in her heart forever.

Louis Lopardi

October 11, 2001