Fly North, Little Bird by Andy Quintana

​Question to think about:
If a caged bird is released into the world,
Will he stay free or return?

You cannot simply unlearn new
Eye opening truth
The farther that I flew
From my trip where I somehow knew
My tiny life, could not be confined
To one place, to one nest
Where it all began, just as my parents have
California, so large, so vast
Realizing how sad I was in the past
To have not explored it sooner
I was a high school junior
Bus traveling up north
Experiencing every college tour
Gliding by every new city
Perching a gander
With my friends, flocking together
How extraordinary,
Imaging a future, truly rife of possibilities

Turlock, Fresno, Stanislaus
San Francisco, Pismo Beach
Santa Cruz’s god-like tall redwood trees
Reaching high towards the heavens
I must confess the beauty of it all
Simply jaw dropping
Nature in its rawest form
So much green, blue and brown
As I looked around
Roaming, as much as I was allowed
I noticed, compared to my home
The landscape, the calmness, the overall tone,
Northern California is its own little world

Such a slower speed
Farmlands at every corner
The roosters are crowing
As each tractor is mowing
The grain, the feed into the ground
Such sounds are foreign in cities
And the beach; a gorgeous sea

Beyond my reach is a horizon
Wondering if I fly there
How much fun I could have
Would I dare?
To soar into the cool crisp air?
I could not have even fathomed
Such clear blue waters
“Wow”, I whispered
“Was this always beyond my nest?”

My entire life has been one big test
As I sat down on my seat
Finding everything so neat, looking through my pictures
Hoping one day to return
To the memory of those four days
Four days to call my own
Growing up beyond my home

SO I will ask again regarding the caged bird
Will he remain free, or simply return?
The answer is he will return
But the cage is no longer there
His wings have grown
As he was sufficiently shown
The next destination can be anywhere.


Author
This is one of our favorite pieces by Andy Quintana. Andy has been involved in It's Personal for the past two years.
He  always shows incredible attention to the details of his pieces and the metaphors within them.
​We love Andy and are so lucky to have him. Enjoy!