He Won the Battle, I Guess

'Twas five days into a long-awaited
Winter break for teachers, students of all ages,
I found myself snuggled, on the couch,
Next to a carefully decorated tree,
Turning virtual pages,

Of yet another long-coveted,
Non-required-non-teaching-book,
When a noise outside,
Made me decide to take a look!

The blue jay was vibrant and adamant too,
No other bird was to take residence
In his tree, or share in his space,
His needs, should take precedence.

In my well rested,
Relaxed vacation state,
I watched the interaction
I let the pages wait,
Spellbound by birds'
Acts of cruelty,
Lack of sensitivity towards
Each others fate.

I felt sorry for that blue jay
As I returned to my book,
On my warm couch,
Next to my own tree,

He probably felt victorious,
I guess
He won that battle,
I guess,
He got what he wanted,
I guess,
He had his moment,
I guess.

As I returned
To my vacation mode,
My own time to reflect,
Over this ode,
My mind wandered,
Thoughts of how easy it is
In the heat of the moment
To put our 'wants' first,
Ahead of our neighbors,
Co-workers, employees,
Our friends,
Over those we care about
Above those we love.

This moment in time

Might just serve to be,

A central message
For the new year,

For you and for me.  

It's easy to become embroiled 

In our own battles, wants, pain,

Our momentary druthers,

We can forget how

Our actions, silence, our choice of words, 

Will change the lives of others.  

Perhaps my central message 

For this new year to be 

Will be to do unto others,

As I hope others will do unto me!