By RK Lakhi Kant<\/p>\n
A strange tree
\nThe top half was dry to the core
\nBeing a euclyptus the branches
\nWere all pointing up, stretching
\nTo the limits toward a clear sky
\nThe bottom half had green leaves
\nAnd usual branches
\nA crow perched on a top half branch
\nPerfectly blended with the dry scene –
\nThe heat from the late summer sky,
\nThe dry banches only existing
\nWithout any liveliness
\nAnd the crow, hardly considered
\nA bird of any worth outside of it`s group.<\/p>\n
On the Metro, surveying from
\nThe transparent windows and doors,
\nEnjoying a vantage view of the
\nGreenery and human settlements
\nDown at the ground level
\nLike an uninvited guest,
\nWhich the crow is, at parks
\nWhere men gather with eatables
\nAnd the crows wait impatiently
\nTo feed on the leftovers,
\n“I say, `O, if only I could relax and walk
\nIn these greens!` `O, if only I had
\nA house like those ones among the greens.` ”
\nI find these missing in life
\nLike many fellow commuters
\nThe inner self urges me on
\nBut I am resourceless in life
\nShunned, detested, chased away
\nNot a flighty bird, never taught
\nTo enjoy, suffering in foolishness
\nBut the last time I went to Manipur
\nI saw a couple of ravens sometimes
\nFlying around some large and old
\nMango trees. My father told me
\nThere were many crows in his time
\nAt the same grove which was then
\nA forest. It was certainly a nostalgic
\nSight, especially when you
\nAre used to to the crowing and ruckus
\nCreated by crows in places like
\nDelhi where they are in good numbers
\nWhoever would think of missing
\nThe crows, but that`s what happened.<\/p>\n
Nature – abundant, beautiful, and
\nCalm – you have a place in the
\nHeart for every being
\nMany times in the moments of my
\nPassing life I survey meaninglessly
\nLike the crow on the euclyptus
\nAnd find out that I too,
\nLike the crow, am a part of
\nNature`s plan, giving me reason
\nTo live as I please, no matter
\nHow strict the rules men devise.<\/p>\n\n