Stanley Park

by Aoife O'Donovan

See that gull on the old sea wall
Songbirds fly and others fall
I sleep to the beating of their wings
The wind sings

See that babe at her mother's breast
If I could, I'd take my rest
Back in the belly from where I came
Nobody knows my name

Half-asleep in a bowl of gruel
No one told me life was cruel
My home is in this valley now
But it's burning down

If I find a fire escape
I'll break the past and put on my cape
I'll pretend I'm Superman
Where are my friends?

I'm a poor wayfarer, and I've
Got no one to dry my eyes
Time to lay this body down
In the frozen ground

When I die, though it bring me back
As a snow-white gull I'll make my tracks
On the sandy beach of the English bay
And I'll fly away