A Broken Wing
A Poem by Danny Ballan from The Scream Poem Collection
On a Monday morning
during all the rush—
to waste another day
doing what I am supposed to do;
one more day on the crowded road,
one last puff on the pipe,
one last hug for my desk
before leaving the real world,
I decided to close the window.
There it lay on my windowsill—
devoured, hunted, wounded in the wing;
I could have skipped a day in the office
for so much less than saving that bird.
Those savage vigilantes
shoot anything that flies;
those first young wings
had just taken off
when they received the shot—
so lucky my young,
you did not fall on the ground
to replace those who hunt in the sky
with those who feed on the helpless
down on the ground;
So lucky my young,
your wounded wing is done;
you’ll fly up back in no time.
Two weeks feeding my bird inside,
onto my desk, on my forgotten papers
in my lost poems in time,
the wing got stronger
so did my love;
for a moment I wished
that bird would never fly—
I couldn’t protect him in the sky,
only in, on my oblivious desk,
the forgotten path through my papers
is his sanctuary.
He’s strong and well again;
he flies all over the room
on my shoulder as if to say thanks,
glances over
towards the window
out of which, we looked on the world,
together, we smiled, pitied, laughed and cried,
together, we saw, what life out there was all about.
I wouldn’t let you go;
back there I cannot save you again
from the hatred of men,
the intolerable missing a chance to dodge
predators gathering around;
I cannot let you go,
yet I know what you are trying to tell me,
you were born to fly
to die up there in the sky
not in the darkness of my room.
Too much pity and regret
I don’t know if you should pity me,
or if I should pity you;
the window is open—
go my bird go—
you couldn’t wait to heal to go;
my wings have long been healed,
I should be as strong
to learn from the tiniest of creatures
two weeks ago I saw on my windowsill,
today flying like the phoenix,
let me join you;
I can watch over your body,
you watch over my soul
up there in the sky,
that window will always be open.
Poem Insights
A Broken Wing: A Reflection on Freedom, Fear, and the Open Window
Danny Ballan’s poem A Broken Wing is, on the surface, a touching story about a wounded bird and its rescuer. But beneath its delicate imagery and gentle storytelling, it carries deep themes of freedom, fear, love, and the painful act of letting go. It’s a poem that speaks to the human condition—the tension between wanting to protect and needing to set free, between the comfort of security and the wild uncertainty of life beyond our controlled spaces.
The Weight of a Wing
At the beginning of the poem, the narrator is caught in the mundane cycle of life—“another day doing what I am supposed to do.” There’s something haunting about the way these words roll off the tongue. We all know this feeling, the weight of routine, the resignation to the endless stream of responsibilities. Yet, in that moment, something interrupts the cycle: a wounded bird on the windowsill.
This bird, “devoured, hunted, wounded in the wing,” is a victim of senseless violence. It had only just learned to fly when it was struck down—a tragic reminder of how fragile new beginnings can be. The narrator recognizes the bird’s fortune: at least it didn’t fall to the ground, where new dangers awaited. But even in its luck, the bird is still broken.
How many times do we, too, feel shot down just as we begin to take off? How often do our dreams take flight only to be wounded by the world around us?
A Sanctuary in Paper and Poetry
The bird finds refuge in the narrator’s room, perching not just on the desk but on “forgotten papers” and “lost poems in time.” There’s an interesting parallel here—papers that once held meaning, that might have carried the weight of the narrator’s thoughts, are now just as lost as the bird. But as the bird heals, something else grows: the narrator’s love for it.
And then, a confession: “For a moment I wished that bird would never fly.”
Here lies one of the most painful truths of love—we want to protect those we love, but sometimes, that means holding them back.
Have you ever wanted to keep someone safe, even if it meant limiting their freedom? Have you ever feared letting someone go because the world is too cruel, too unkind? And if so, was that love, or was it fear?
The Dilemma of Freedom
When the bird finally regains its strength, the room is no longer enough. It flies around, perches on the narrator’s shoulder, and gazes at the window—out at the world it once belonged to. Together, the narrator and the bird had shared moments of laughter, pity, and sorrow, but the bird knows something the narrator is hesitant to accept: its place is in the sky.
It’s a heartbreaking realization. The narrator can no longer protect the bird once it leaves. The world outside is filled with hunters, with danger, with cruelty. But what kind of life is one spent in safety but captivity?
And so, the window is opened.
This is a moment that goes beyond just the bird—it is the narrator’s own realization that they, too, must learn to fly again. “My wings have long been healed,” they admit. The rescue of the bird mirrors the narrator’s own unspoken journey. Perhaps they, too, have been wounded before. Perhaps they, too, found safety in their room, in the routine of their days. But watching the bird take flight, they know: healing is not meant to keep us grounded. It is meant to set us free.
The Ever-Open Window
As the poem ends, the narrator makes a promise: “That window will always be open.”
The open window represents the choice to embrace life, despite its risks. It is an invitation to freedom, to adventure, to uncertainty. It is a reminder that love does not trap—it liberates. The bird may return, or it may not, but what matters is that it was given the choice.
And so we ask ourselves:
- What are the “wounded wings” we carry? What has held us back from flying?
- Are there people in our lives we have kept close, not out of love, but out of fear of losing them?
- Have we ever confused protection with possession? Have we ever stayed in a comfortable prison, afraid of what lies beyond the window?
- And if we were to open that window today, what would we find? Would we take the leap?
Final Thoughts
A Broken Wing is not just about a bird. It is about all of us. It is about the moments we are hurt, the places where we heal, and the decisions we must make when we are strong enough to step back into the world. It is a poem about the beauty of flight, even when it comes with the risk of falling.
Perhaps the greatest act of love is to open the window, even when every part of us wants to keep it shut. And perhaps, if we are brave enough, we might just find that we, too, were meant to fly.
This poem is from Danny’s The Scream poem collection, which is available to buy on Amazon.
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