I wrote a poem with this sort of imagery for my creative writing class senior year that inspired me to do this. The poem is LAME and the assignment was "conceit" poetry. (comparing one thing to another and speaking as if it were the other thing... heart-->bird) I honestly like the picture on its own without the poem, but I figure it might be interesting to have the inspiration posted as well.

Wacom graphire tablet and Photoshop CS as always.

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Here's the poem. I'm not much of a writer.. at all... it sucks.. but here goes.


I remember a time not long ago
My little red bird sat perched alone
Inside the cage that is my bosom
Tired, waiting, hungry, and sad.
She was young and didn’t know anything
About the world outside this cage.

She sang only for life’s simple pleasures
For at the time that was all she knew.
Then one day you came along
A ray of happiness for my little bird.
You showed her what it was to be loved.
She sang all night and all day for you.

I felt her wings beating against my chest
Whenever you came into her sight.
You set my little bird free at last,
Free from her tired, bony cage.
She stretched her wings and sang a song
The most beautiful song you could imagine.

But I remember one day you wanted
To hold her oh so innocently,
And left my bird crying,
You pulled her pretty tail for no reason.
Why you did this, I did not know
But I tended to her the best I could,
Thinking this would never happen again.

You took my little red bird and tied
Weights around her fragile small legs.
You thought this was hysterical, didn’t you?
I cut the chains from her ankles,
I told her everything would be alright,
And so did you.

Then I remember a day not long ago
You took my little bird again,
But gently this time
As you whispered apologies into her ears
You spoke to hauntingly sweet
As you slowly took her wings into your hands
And crushed her bones in your fists

The sounds of snapping along with shrieking,
The blood turning her feathers a deeper red,
Much deeper than they were before,
All gave you a sick feeling of pleasure
But you continued to speak softly
As you left my little red bird mangled on the ground.

I scooped her up and put her back,
Back into her familiar sad cage.
I bandaged her wings and comforted her,
Yet she still cried for days and days.
I began to wonder if the pain was too much
For my poor little bird to handle.

But then one day the crying ceased,
And the silence made me curious.
It was then I heard a song,
It was a song I’d never heard before
Coming from my little red bird.
It was a song of learning and living on.

It was then that I knew
That she would finally be okay.
She would be free to stretch her wings again
And sing her joyful songs
Until then she will stay healing and hoping
To be set free from the cage again.