@OldBastard 7 March 2022 more from that month

Night Bird She flies over the valley of death, her tired wings pulling her broken body towards a distant paradise. Down below lies misery, hate, death, and disease, and although her multitude of ailments weight her down, her spirit is strong. She keeps flying, pulling, straining for that better life. As she flies, she sings a joyful song of hope. It is a beautiful song, and it catches your attention, and warms your shriveled heart. You notice that you are smiling for the first time in years. "It's okay ...... it's alright". But the storm clouds on the horizon swell in intensity, and as they draw closer, strong headwinds rip at her wings, battering her until she is slammed into the ground. Laying amongst the wreckage and filth of the valley floor, her song changes to a wail of despair, and as the cold rain pummels the ground, she dies. You look at her dead body, realize the futility of her flight, and remember the pain of her dying. Despite the joy of her song, she died anyway. You shake your head and think to yourself that the cynics are correct: life sucks, and then you die. All there is to life is waiting for it to end. Yet somewhere, clinging to the back of your mind, remains that song. Softly, gently, it reminds you over and over that, "It's okay ...... it's alright". We are all living on borrowed time, waiting for the death sentence on our brief existence to be enacted. Why, then, shouldn't we all be night birds? Let's take to the skies and sing for joy, happy in our flight, even though we know that our flights will eventually be cut short. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6UzrJrkpwQ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightbirde