The Bird Who Forgot the Sky

By Ruhika Sethi

A tale this is of the ferocious forests,

Of the open wilderness and lush greens,

It started with a crackle of a shell,

A teary eyed mother, chirping as she watched it dwell.

Nourished and nurtured every day,

She, the bearer of infinite love,

It was all shimmer and sunshine,

Till one stormy day had come.

Some men made their way through the mystical trails,

To find the little nestling,

"We can make it the greatest!" They said,

To the woman on which it was clinged.

"It'll do tricks, it'll thrive, it'll know all of it!"

"Send it to us, And we will take care of every bit!"

The innocent mother, sent it there,

It's healthy growth, Was her only prayer.

The men caged it then and there,

Took it to the place where there were thousands of such,

It let it grow in a conditioned way,

Programmed it to think in a manner so bare.

It was constantly pressured, to perform well,

It was solely judged on the tricks it could do.

The way it could fly didn't matter,

His confidence, it all blew.

When he confronted His dilemma to the men,

"It's essential for you." they replied,

"You must focus more! Or you will fail in life!" They said,

Petrified it continued to cripple.

The final day had come,

The day it would be released,

And when it came out of the cage 

It couldn't spread It's wings.

Sure, it could flip over,

Sure, it could chirp on command 

Sure, It could roll on the floor,

But in the skies, he couldn't soar.

I'm aware, We can find this absurd

But this is not just about birds.

By Ruhika Sethi