Glorious Morn! Poem by NAYYAR SHABBIR AHMAD

It was on just this sort of day
when the persistent rays of the sun
poured out over each and every blade
of grass in the vicinity
When cotton wool clouds scudded past
an otherwise pale blue sky
and, made the gentle breeze
rustling through the trees, murmur
in appreciation as all the flowers
danced in unison

that, I, then aged eight
inadvertently left my parrots cage open
And, was made to look on helplessly as the bird
made a quick getaway and settled on the branch
of a nearby tree

How I cried and cried
and felt extremely bereft, then

But, now, each time I greet a glorious morn
I think back to the perverse day
my precious parrot - very sensibly - flew away
to find its freedom