By RK Lakhi Kant
On the fringes of the forest
The city begins from here
Vehicles one after the other
Beep, bop, and whir at the red light
A new township coming up
Aware suddenly of the cuckoo singing
While walking towards the red light
A powerful sound, a pitch higher
Than the humdrum of the city
Natural sounds like the cooing
Are superior to the mechanical
Sounds which are the epitome of matter
All noises converge on the cuckoo’s song
The song says, “feel free”, and it is the
Bird’s song on my way out which dilutes
All other sounds produced by the city
Like a forest watch who protects the green land
The bird keeps the city/forest buffer intact
And provides calm to the mind
But somewhere down the line the song
Disappears among the city sounds
Cuckoo 2nd meeting
My way takes me back again to the red light
On another day
This time I find out that the
Cuckoo seems to be impatient, in a hurry
Unlike the last time when it was soft and composed
In its calling
So useless are our endeavors
When the cuckoo starts calling
So cheap all this materialism is
One small clean sound penetrates
And dissolves in a moment
All the cluttering city sounds
A thanksgiving we owe
To the cuckoo for showing we
Cannot be manipulated all the time
By the sounds that drive the city
Cuckoo 3rd meeting
Getting further away from the cuckoo’s song
Carrying the cuckoo in my mind
I head back toward the place I stay
Thinking and becoming more and more
Engrossed in nature’s revelation of its superiority
O! So pleasant this land is
But why is it trying to become a
Graveyard of spirituality
The song exceeds matter and provides a way out into
Aesthetics, spirituality
Ensures something which is positive
And negates the negativity of life in the city
O cuckoo! Unburden my mind from
The depths of materialism
I announce my dependence on nature’s kingdom