As The Jungle Comes Alive

By Surinder Singh Mehta

As the breeze whistles past the leaves of the giant oak,

Nature's orchestra comes alive:

As the rain drops fall pitter patter

On the parched earth -

The roots of thirsting trees

Come alive.

As the thrush sings in merriment,

In full throated ease her Song of Love -

The leaves blush, the boughs quiver,

Even as mother trunk stands tall

At the warmth and gaiety of the joyous occasion!

 On the adjacent cedar

Kipling's 'Darzee' weaves her nest:

Skilfully, passionately, relentlessly,

Preparing for a cosy homecoming of her Li'l cherubs.

Scalded by the bush fire on the horizon

The haggard Koala family of four

Gingerly lumbers up the straight eucalyptus: 

To heal and eat and live again.

 Atop the  ancient, spreading oak

There is a rustle in the leaves:

Perhaps the predator raptor bird

Is preparing to take flight

To pursue a prey 

Her sharp vision has just espied.

The silence is suddenly

shattered by Sunaina, the vigilant Barking Deer!

The grim message is picked up by

 Ramu Langoor,

Who transmits the message thru his Communications Brigade,

From tree to tree, 

ear to open ear, warning :

'BEWARE! BALA, 

THE LION KING, 

IS AT LARGE'!

Pin drop silence greets the warning knell.

 After a while, it's safe once again :

The breeze blows harder,

The orchestra sounds sweeter

Even as the Tailor bird, Darzi, wefts and wafts her engineering marvel;

The thrush sings the Love refrain, the koalas pluck the first green shoots, and the raptor takes off on her mission!! 

By Surinder Singh Mehta