A Bird Red As The Blood In Me

By Gauri Bansal

Weights tether

To red feathers

The walls cascaded

All gold was raided

But to everyone else

It looked the same

Sky was out of reach

Aching wings beseech

Strings sever skin

But the blood within

Was so crimson

That it was golden

Bricks start to fall

From caving walls

The sound of thunder

Left you to wonder

How this riot

To most ears

Is perfectly quiet

And nobody will notice

Because nobody will see

How the shackles of one's mind

Don't have a key

The clocks ticking

No time for games

Dear phoenix

Burst into flames

Then no stone

Will have you bound

To the serrated surface

Of this stinging ground

It doesn’t matter

Who thinks that you'll win

Rebirth was always

From the ruin

By Gauri Bansal