The following poem has been re-printed from the Ancient Paths archives. It was originally published in the printed literary magazine, Issue 6 (Spring 2001).
Two Sparrows by Robert Leo Stanley
A sparrow had turned in flight away from the others and had come to a land parched by a cruel sun where diamond-hooded cobras and red-jawed iguanas eat, rest, and wait.
His frantic wings fought against a tide of demon winds, and he rose high above the shifting dunes in search of an oasis.
He found none.
Wings failing he fell toward a den of scorpions.
Then, snatching him, another sparrow came and lifted him up, thwarting the dark winds.
Because we are tended we tend one another.