When I was eight I had a friend

with a pirate smile

make believe and play pretend

we were innocent and wild

hopped a fence and slammed the gate

running down my alleyway

in time to watch Sally's pigeon fly



We loved to watch them dive and soar

circle in the sky

free as a bird from three to four

and never knowing why

neighbors pulled their wash back in

put away my Barbie and Ken

look out overhead while Sally's pigeons fly



I had a fool's confidence

that the world had no boundaries

but instincts and common sense

come in different quantities



My heart began to

skip to the beat

of the boy next door

She had her eye across the street

on someone shy and tall

we lived our dreams

and challenged fate

in tears she told me she was late

and Sally let his pigeons out to fly...



On the dresser sits a frame

with a photograph

two little girls in ponytails

some twenty one years back

she left one night with just a nod

was lost from some back alley job

I close my eyes and Sally's pigeons fly,

she never saw those birds again

and me, I can't remember when

a pirate smile hasn't made me cry

I close my eyes

and Sally's pigeons fly...