cw: none

The problem is, of course:
the canary is a metaphor.
It is not a real thing, it is illusion,
and it rankles at the fact that
it is not real.
It is a tool, a device,
a thing to be used –
even when it is voiceless, its feathers ripped out,
when it bleeds ink instead of blood
and feasts only on misused paper,
it is still a tool.