yellow feathers collect at the bottom of his cage
it's that season again
a season of shedding the old to make way for the new
i'm like him
the old, outdated parts of me are shedding
they've been peeling away like outdated wallpaper to reveal yet more layers underneath
when will the peeling back of layers be completed?
his molting and growing of new feathers will be complete in a matter of weeks
mine may take weeks, months or even years
a lifetime of time-worn layers peeling off
being scraped away as extra grout
laying at my feet
discarded
how can I ever paste them back to me?
i cannot
nor would I ever want to
those layers of me are in the past
they are no longer me
i will never be the same
the old me and the new me dance until the day the new me
the new layer is complete