I Destroyed Beauty

It was dark.

Too dark.

Dark enough to where I was blinded by my own malevolence.

The thick and murky forest,

Where shadows appeared much more threatening.

Where I felt small, insignificant.

Any security I had, it was stripped from me the second the sun went down.

In the day it looked so clear

The sunrise revealed the colors,

The flourishing plants, grazing animals, crawling insects, and majestic birds.

So vibrant, a true testament that maybe there’s something more to this life.

But there I was, with my 12 gauge shotgun.

A gift given to me by my father.

A gift given to him by the industrial age of man.

I never wanted to hurt anything,

But the sun, it lowered, out of sight.

No more heat, no more light.

I was frightened.

Lost.

All I had was my gun and my thoughts.

And then came a rush of wind, over my head.

I could only assume it was a bird.

And I remembered why I went out there in the first place.

To grab a macaw.

My son had always wanted their feathers.

So there I was, with the little light that shone through the trees, I caught sight of that bird.

I aimed, I fired, I hit it.

The bird fell through the branches, into the exotic plants below.

I felt satisfied by my talent. And proud of my efforts.

Excited to bring back this bird to my boy.

But I couldn’t find it, so I waited until morning.

The sun rose.

The plants, they looked pleased by the light,

The animals, they yawned, welcoming the sun.

The frogs croaked and hopped around, splashing about with each other in the pockets of water.

The birds sang and twirled in the sky.

But this bird I had shot, well, I could only cry.

The sight of this creature, dead on the ground, it shook me.

It hurt me inside.

This Macaw, so beautiful, it’s wings folded,

I’ll never get that sight out of my mind.

I realized I robbed the earth of this glorious bird.

And for what, the entire premise of this journey was absurd.

The gift I was given, the gun on my side, I used it to destroy another gift I was given.

I destroyed beauty.

I took something that brought light to the world and I made it dark.

The glorious Macaw, I buried it, deep in the ground.

But I kept a feather, to remind me of how much the darkness might blind me.

I destroyed beauty and now I seek to bring light.

I went home to my son, told him what happened.

I made a mistake in thinking animals don’t matter.

I taught him, we went, we saw the macaws.

We watched them flap their wings in a patternized way.

We saw the streaks of color glide through the air.

With money we saved, we gave to an organization.

A clinic that saved them, that helped people know,

That even though they’re not us, they help us to grow.

We ought to help them, to prove that they matter.

These Scarlet Macaws, they’re a gift to our world.

They’re endangered, and if we don’t do something our children won’t get to witness their beauty.

To realize that the world isn’t all that dark.

And when it is, you can turn to the light, to enjoy the little things in life.

These birds, that’s what they symbolize.

Their purpose goes much deeper than helping the ecosystem.

They’re a symbol of hope.

A sight of allure, ablaze with bright colors.

I destroyed beauty, I took away light, but I’m here today to help make things right.