A fly caught my eye
on the outside of my window—
and my eye could see the irony in that
the fly too had been caught—
unawares and inept.
One of his wings had made close acquaintances
with the devious thread of a spiderless web.

He had welcomed himself
into an abandoned home—
No resident to be found;
not one that remained
at this humble abode.

His verve dwindled, his movement slowed—
wound himself down like a tin clockwork toy
nearing its final turn.

And no fault of his own;
I thought to myself—
“Nature and fate
can make such cruel accomplices.
I’m not normally one to intervene,
but I could stop all of this
needless suffering.”

So then I leaned into the sore feeling
that tugged on my heartstring.
I unsnagged his wing
and set him free—
as that is what I would want done for me.

© Joseph Chin
#nature #conscience #rightandwrong #choices #fate #destiny