Little Bird could never fly
Not one inch off the ground
It wasn't though he didn't try
But every time he found
He flapped his wings, so very hard
Until his face burnt red
Jumped off of a tall tree branch
And landed on his head
"Look at Little Bird"
His other classmates said with malice
"Why can't he fly? That's just absurd"
"Let's go higher so he can't catch us"
Little Bird sat on his front steps
Miserably below
Nobody wanted to be his friend
Or to even say hello
Everyone told him that flying was easy
And he wasn't trying enough
"Just catch the wind and next part's a breeze"
But even flapping was tough
His wings were different from the others
His feathers, not quite right
His beak was oddly shaped
And he slept with his stuffed animal each night
Little Bird was not that small
He stuck out from the rest
Little Bird didn't fit in at all
Not even in his own nest
Little Bird learned to pretend
To be everything he wasn't
He tried to be every kind of bird
From a peacock to a pheasant
He wore all kinds of feathered coats
And learned to be less shy
But no matter what his friends found out
He simply couldn't fly
That year Little Bird knew
He couldn't fly south for the winter
Nobody cared that he didn't go
And Little Bird's heart was splintered
He stayed inside for many days
Taking a much-needed rest
"Pretending is tiring to do all the time"
"I think I like being 'me' the best"
Little Bird didn't know who 'me' was
And he was afraid to look
Then came the noises of voices outside
And Little Bird's earth shook
Outside in the snow, there were birds just like him
And none of them were flying
All of them were being themselves
And none of them were lying
"You look like me!" Little Bird said
"What kind of birds are you?"
"We're penguins" they said happily
"And you're a penguin too"