i painted you a bird

i painted you a bird
and you drew a cage around it
with a blue Bic pen
i painted a door on the cage
and you gave the door a lock
i painted that lock a key
and you swallowed it
so i gave the bird a tiny painting of the sky
and you took the painting to the framers.

so i brought the bird a cloud
to remind her of the sky
and you told the cloud
to rain and rain and rain
so i gave the bird an umbrella
and you tore a hole in the fabric
and smiled sweetly.
so i sewed a tiny patch onto the hole
and smiled sweetly.
"i love you, " you said.
"i love you, too," i said, and sighed.