it was the only thing she knew how to do

I moved a little closer to the fire.
I stared at the flames until I saw images in the depths._____
I imaged words in the odd noises that issued from the burning wood.

I imagined that many artists _____ wove a clever net
in which they placed
a stuffed male bird.
A little brown female bird saw him.
She flew into their net,
_____ and they trapped her inside of it.

"See it is a beautiful net.
Look how elegantly it is woven!
Why don't you sing about it?" they said.

The little bird did sing.
It was the only thing she knew how to do.
They thought she was singing about their net
because they didn't understand her language,
but she was only singing about how sad she was.

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