I wanted it to be a cardinal.

 

 

Ruby feathers that spread from one side of the country to the other. 

 

 

When I looked into his eyes, that were the color of a rose in bloom, I was mesmerized by the wealth of memories it held within.

 

 

As though it had lived many ages where people forgot. They forgot how to flesh out the falseness that poured into their minds.

 

 

No shield was powerful enough to deflect the lies.

 

 

Don’t be fooled by its light stature. The bird soared through wind and rain. Its strength wasn’t on the outside. It was in his actions.

 

 

I wanted it to be a cardinal.

 

 

Or maybe I needed it to be.

 

 

This happened a lot, where I wished something was what it wasn’t. Must be the dreamer in me. Grasping for beauty when beauty doesn’t exist.

 

 

But it was only a small flag. 

 

 

A stick in the ground with a red piece of plastic waving in the breeze to warn people not to dig.