Sparrow

Trapped inside a supermarket vestibule

between automatic doors that open

and close as if of their own accord,

the creature doesn’t flit about in panic

but sits petrified near the shopping carts,

wings clipped by indecision.

I lift it in my cupped palms—

first and only time I have held a wild bird.

It doesn’t resist as I step outside

and offer it to the sky.

Without hesitation, it flies.