chick alone

I'm walking to the bus stop from the train station, 

cutting across a green corridor in the city centre 

when a small movement by a tree catches my eye

A chick

round brown perfection 

pecking all by its small self

no protective hen in sight 

I tremble to see one 

so close alone 

blissfully unaware

I take in 

the arc of its yellow brown beak

the shades of brown and black overlapping feathers cupping the bird 

like two warm palms

as it picks up a yellow morsel, 

swallows and turns on delicate twigs 

each with three tender claws

that I can almost feel walking in my hand

But it is earth that holds it, 

not me 

who can only hold it in my gaze

Stay safe i pray

Stay safe little one

As I walk on to the bus stop I spot a rooster and a hen

pecking together a good 50 meters away,

two other chicks darting in between their feet, 

The loner chick is now unseen in the grass

I want to squawk at the family

Look out look out 

Do not forget the one with a mind of its own

Like my son

Wandering off on his own 

Distracted by food 

So god has to work overtime 

to shield him 

Stay safe little one, stay safe

I step away from

The stolen moment

Like a picture before panic

Of a baby cheeping high-pitched for its parents

Of parents running back and forth frantic for their missing chick

Of the chick in the jaws or claws of a predator

Anything could happpen