Fledglings

..........Shells cracked......... .......Confines crashed....... ......As life thrust......... ........With feeble might....... Fledgling were hatched In stark nakedness matched Quivering masses of flesh Born into a world afresh All they knew was a gnawing hunger Failing to appease, they would go into danger Each time they felt their mother beside They would open their rose pink jaws wide And something into their mouths would be stuffed A worm or a berry she so thoughtfully clutched Often the mother would fly away Leaving the fledglings to have their way Now and then she would come in speed To feed her ravenous brood With night fall, she would fly back to her nest Letting them snooze under her wings tight As days went by, they saw downy feathers grow Giving their body and their wings a rare glow They were no more ugly pieces of flesh But young birdies with plumage fresh They longed for the freedom of the sky And like their mother, wanted to fly No more willing to be shackled to the nest They decided to take the final test They sprang from the confines of their nest Flexing their feathered wings and feet And launching into the vastness of the sky To immeasurable heights, they did fly