Doe and Hope

Description

The domed glass case on a turned ebonised base housing a preserved bluebird stood upon a naturalistic setting of ferns and grasses, survives from the late nineteenth century in good condition.

There's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going to let anybody see you.
There's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I pour whiskey on him and inhale cigarette smoke and the whores and the bartenders and the grocery clerks never know that he's in there.

There's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay down, do you want to mess me up? you want to screw up the works? you want to blow my book sales in Europe?
There's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep. I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be sad. then I put him back,
but he's singing a little in there, I haven't quite let him die
and we sleep together like that with our
secret pact and it's nice enough to make a man weep, but I don't weep, do
you?

Bluebird by Charles Bukowski

Bluebirds are associated with hope, happiness and many other things we love. As a result, they have probably appeared in more songs, poems and literature than any other bird. What better way to preserve these values than with a preserved bluebird?