A Bird's Tale

I love beaches. Back in my school and college days, whenever I was at my Uncle's, I would often go to the beach with my brother. He would go into the water with his friends while I just stayed behind. I sat on the sand with my naked feet being washed by the sea water while I looked at the boats struggling far inside. I loved spending my evenings alone there. With my arms hugging my knees and the earth slipping beneath my legs, I looked at the birds flying to their homes, against the orange sunset. The view was so beautiful that I had always wanted to be a part of it. I always dreamed about being a bird and flying away to some distant land, a land without care and worries, a land far away from this maddening crowd. I had always wanted to live their fairy tale life. But then one day, a wounded bird taught me what their life was, what real life was. This was a poem I had written during those days. Its a simple poem, nothing fancy, just like the birds and the sunset.

As I look at the vast blue sky
Sitting by the sea
Pondering over why everything
Is wrong with me

I look at the splendid white birds
Gliding over the sky
I wish I was one of them
And have the world to fly

Out of nowhere, a bird came
And sat by me
Bathed in the white moonlight
Oh! What a beauty

But why the pain in its eyes
I look at its legs, blood oozing out
But neither did it scream
Nor did it shout

Strangely I could hear it say
“Boy, with us, you want to fly
But you must know the darkness behind the sun
Before you should try


The dawn doesnt come twice to awaken us
Still, we fly miles from distant lands
To feed our hungry mouths
On these alien waters and these scorching sands

We risk our lives everyday
And then, everyday we begin
You just see the beauty
But everything beautiful is marred from within

But we never show the world our pains
For them, we just fly, sing and hum
Just try to be happy
And see how happy the world becomes

With these wise words
The bird flew away with glee
As I sat on the beach
Pondering over why everything is wrong with me