Where Did The Finches Go?

By Varsha Ravivenkatesh

Bright red finches chirping to their hearts content

prancing between one fresh green branch and another

their feet adorned with glittering dew drops,

their feathers mahogany under golden light

Capturing everyone’s interest, lighting up their drab lives

Now nowhere to be found, red lights instead of their red chests

The air clouded with murmurs of people asking where the little birds have gone

Well, the leaves that were once covered in dew drops

are now smothered in dust and pollution

The serene cool lakes that the finch drank water from

now painted with sage green algae and films of oil

The trees, homes of the finch, a burrow of festivity,

now concrete poles, with wires for branches and posters for leaves

A breath of fresh air taken turned into smoky coughs

The seeds that they once ate buried under the freshly paved roads

Their chirruping replaced by horns and the roaring engines of vehicles

Our conveniences took away their lives

now is it really a mystery where the finches have gone?

To hear their lively chatter and glimpse at their crimson feathers

We must learn to regrow the seeds of nature

Forging a bond between nature and humankind…

By Varsha Ravivenkatesh