Page 66 - Musings 2020
P. 66

Do   Old   Birds   Dream   of   a   Paradise?

                                            Kumar   Utkarsh   2017A3PS0350P

                                            Do   old   birds   dream   of   a   paradise?
                                               Do   they   search   for   a   future
                                               In   every   crystal   ball   of   rain?
                                            Does   its   memory   too   escape   them
                                                    With   every   sigh?
                                              Where   do   old   birds   go   to   die?

                                                 Do   their   songs   go   bitter
                                            With   faith   flying   off   their   feathers?
                                          Are   dewdrops   just   tears   of   an   old   bird
                                                   That   wept   all   night?
                                     When   the   next   morning   comes   without   a   sunrise,
                                              Where   do   old   birds   go   to   die?

                                           Do   they   look   for   a   soft   place   to   fall,
                                                     Pillow   of   winds
                                                    Carpets   of   grass?
                                          Having   lived   in   skies   for   far   too   long,
                                               Do   they   turn   into   dandelions
                                                     Once   they   die?

                                                  Not   each   one   of   them
                                                Ends   up   on   the   wire   mesh,
                                        Not   all   are   lucky   to   find   nests   abandoned,
                                       When   their   beaks   can   no   longer   hold   in   them
                                                    Pieces   of   heaven,
                                              Where   do   old   birds   go   to   die?

                                                The   hour’s   hand   wipes   off
                                                   The   blue   of   the   sky
                                             While   the   bird   sitting   on   its   edge
                                               Shrugs   life   off   its   shoulders,
                                           Drops   eternity   hanging   to   its   claws.
                                               It   slits   the   veil   of   the   night,
                                          Stepping   into   the   other   side   of   the   sky
                                                As   a   ghost   all   over   again."



















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