The Firetail

Just let the firetail go, 
said Papa.  But when I did
it singed me and Jalil
while charging toward freedom
and I screamed and Jalil screamed
and Papa aimed his long rifle
but was not able to strike,

and thus it escaped
never to be seen again
and our fear and pain became
a legend; to this day
people speak of the firetail
with awe, wondering how Jalil and I
caught it in the first place, how it came
to be where we were, how we were able
to approach it, what it looked like;

yes, with only this to go on
they wonder what a firetail was anyway,
is it still a threat or just something
long vanished to recall
and wonder at.