birds in the ribs

So

it turns out
there were a thousand tiny birds
living in my rib cage

some kind of cosmic mix-up
at the factory

somewhere there’s a birdcage
you don’t want to think about

but so anyway
one day my rib cage
cracked open
in (honestly) a not unpleasant way
like opening a jewelry box

and these birds in my rib cage
burst out and away in furious, ecstatic conversation.

No me was harmed in this,
I unfolded in an impossible way
released the flock
and folded back softly
like building a layer cake of flesh.

the birds now reside in a huge bird tenement
a giant bushy tree that hosts
twice daily vociferous debates
dawn and dusk
an explosion of bird talk
about what it’s like to be free