Arthur (Boo) Radley

A mocking bird in a high golden cage,

to be locked away forever, for

trouble it caused in the past.

The bird watched the days go by with vacant eyes,

its world dull shades of black and white.

A long decade later, two children play near the cage;

a boy with a sense of justice and a girl eager to

learn.

The cage was rusted and decayed; the bird was old and frail.

It was captivated by their youth, its world shone in

vivid greens and bright magentas.

It watched them grow, once leaving presents

for them to find. Love swelled in its little heart as it saw how

their faces glowed in delight.

Years pass by and one dark night,

trouble strikes.

The children were walking by, a dark shadow

followed.

A knife was held aloft, a dark aura

pulsated from it.

"Someone is going to kill my children!" screamed

inside the bird's mind.

It remembered how life used to be, a

dark and lonely place for it.

Adrenaline pumped

through its veins as it broke through its prison and

attacked the shadow.

The shadow melted into the darkness, the knife along

with it.

The bird flies back to its cage,

its world the same still

The only thing in the bird's

world was safe, and that's

all that mattered.