The lonely bird flitted from branch to branch
In search of company and companionship
But at every turn it was denied,
“Too different! Too different!” Yelled they all
They couldn’t bear to watch
Or understand
How it lived its life.
It hunted late at dawn
And woke up at its pleasure
It gathered no trinkets
Nor bothered guarding its treasures
It twittered at odd times and laughed throughout the day
“Why are you so happy?” They all asked
Feathers ruffling indignantly
The poor bird felt confused and thought,
“Is it wrong to feel this way?”
One fine day
The sun shone bright
Its flames lit up the trees
Bright as the phoenix’s wings,
The forest echoed with the rustle of feathers
As all the birds took to flight
Except a single pair left alone on a swing
The little bird cooed in sadness
As it pondered its existence,
“Am I to be left alone forevermore? Oh, despair!”
Determined and decided it took to flight,
“I’ll make friends. Surely, I can!”
It’s the loneliness it couldn’t bear.
The little bird played a game
A few ever knew
It pretended to be another
Imposter of the highest order,
An actor and an artist
A masquerade of two.
A flurry of wings
As friends flew in
In scores of ten
The little bird laughed in joy
Elated and loved
It would never be lonely again.
The little bird woke up at the crack of dawn
And pecked away till dinner
It foraged for hours endlessly
And gathered meaningless treasures
Soon as the hours stretched into days
It felt discontent and dissatisfied
The heart yearned for something
That was denied,
For all the chatter that surrounded the little bird,
It still felt lonely inside.
It flew and flew in circles
Try as it may the little bird knew it didn’t belong,
Its flock wasn’t this one
Frustrated beyond measure,
It cried
“What is amiss? What is amiss?”
The answer struck harder than any blow,
“… but I am complete.”
Laughing in relief it felt free
The shackles crumbled
“I searched for something that was a part of me.”
