Never to Fly Again

I soar through the air
with the wind blowing through my wings
and the tops of the trees brushing my wingtips,
a warm thermal pushing me higher.

With my superb hearing
I pick up the sound of a click
and the blast of a gunshot
as a bullet hurtles toward me.

I hopelessly try to dodge,
but get hit in the breast.
The steady flapping of my wings is halted
as pain courses through my body.

Next, I'm plummeting toward the earth
and I think to myself,
"Why is it always the innocent?"
I take my last breath, never to fly again.