The disintegrating pigeons line the street
Expiring, flesh mile markers
Tracking the progress of a journey
From here to there
From life to death
A daily reminder of mortality

They lie lifeless, strewn
Innards exposed, rusted by the air
Wings torn asunder
Beautiful feathers wilting, now
No longer connected to soul
Just spare, useless matter

Sweep them away, sweep them away
Dear god, just sweep them away

Everyday I pass, monitoring
Charting the fall
Them
Me
My route fixed, my destination known
Their resting place unmoving, not chosen
I rot and decay, day after day
In sympathy and in solidarity

The disintegrating pigeons
Take their place beside mittens;
Two of, white
To fit the smallest baby
Delicate things, abandoned
They litter the pavement with unanswered questions
Things we might not want to know

Sweep them away, sweep them away
Dear god, just sweep them away

And now the single wing has worn away to fragile bones
Stood on by commuters, who don’t know
Or don’t care
Traipsing clumsily on the remnants of existence
While our cells wither with the passing hours

One day we will lay in the ground
Or on the pavement
We will be stark, hollow shells
Drained of memory and devoid of life
And the pigeons will -
Without second thought -
Step on our sacred remains

Sweep them away, sweep them away
Dear god, just sweep them away