A different kind of bird

Have you heard the story about the girl
who one evening went out for a walk
- and never returned?
Some say she ran away,
others say she killed herself.
They found her necklace down by the river,
the one with the silver bird charm.
I knew this girl
and I loved her.
She used to talk about the birds
and how they could fly away
- to wherever they wanted,
but somehow always returned to the same place
and sang in the same tree.
She smiled to me and said
that she was a different kind of bird.

I never understood her.
Now I do.