Build and Destroy

I watched them building for months,
fascinated.

Twigs and leaves and feathers.

I listened to their love songs,
noticed how one always stayed home
guarding the eggs.

I worried at their location,
in the path of gangster kids
who sought to destroy
any beautiful thing.

I moved the nest to another tree,
not knowing it would be abandoned
as soon as I touched it.

I killed those babies
trying to protect them.

It made me think of my mother
and every nest
she destroyed.