Two little birds rested on their perch

The first one asked, “Who do we answer to?

Do we answer to the heavens, to the sun and moon above?

To the stars and the inky blackness of the night that envelopes us in cooling comfort

To the clouds and the wind that rush past us as we soar across the world”

 

And the heavens and the earth smiled

Proud of their creation

 

The second responded,

“What about the earth? Do we answer to her?

The soft ground beneath our feet, calling us to eat

The rushing oceans and rivers, quenching our thirst

And the trees that grow from her, giving us homes and a place to rest our weary wings

She provides us with so much

Why shouldn’t we answer to her?”

The first looked down at the earth below, stumped

 

And the heavens and the earth smiled

Proud of their creation

 

Together they sat. Perched, pondering, children of both heaven and earth

“It is neither,” the first said. “It is both,” said the second

After much deliberation, they said together

“We answer to the other birds who live with us in the heavens and on the earth

Those birds we fly with in the sky, eat with on the ground, nest with in the trees

We answer to them all”

 

And the heavens and the earth smiled

Proud of their creation