I wonder what birds do all day

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Looking up into the tree,

I wonder what they do all day.

 

Do they soar through the heavens,

wings broadened out,

faces caressing

fluffy clouds,

 

or do they fly out to the top of

the highest tree,

build a home there;

cuddling their

shelled young,

 

or perhaps they soar to

the highest mountain-top

capturing food,

storing it in their

unattainable homes?

 

Do they fly to a safe

tree branch,

ebbing closer

– and closer –

to a weakening twig,

 

showering

the flightless world below

with monsoons of songs?

 

Perhaps,

they stand on the

branch closest to the bark;

 

sighing at the sight of the pond

squirming with specimens;

 

wishing that they could escape the air,

swiftly embracing the

coolness

of fish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiksha Dheda is a South African of Indian descent. She uses writing to express her OCD and depression roller-coaster ventures. Sometimes, she dabbles in photography, painting, and baking lopsided layered cakes. Her writing has been featured (or is forthcoming) in Brittle Paper, Daily Drunk Magazine, Door is a jar, Luna Luna Mag and Versification, amongst others. She is a Pushcart nominee. Find her on Twitter @ShikshaWrites.

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