Drowned Poem by Daniel Trevelyn Joseph

I walk out in the morning from Jasmine
My nine-storied housing society in Bandra
And hear soft birdsong, the bell-like sounds
Of the Indian mynah, the ‘tevee, tevee’
Sprung loud and big from the tailor-bird,
Perky, small and restless,
With bass provided by the crow at distance.

I walk through the low lane between FDA
And Artek Nagar society’s eastern wall,
Enter the pavement of Bandra-Kurla main road,
And walk up and down the length of 1.1 km
One side, and start hearing the car sounds now.

The tyres make different frequencies to vibrate
The auto-rickshaws produce sounds
With gaps, some cars go along with sounds
Made by different metal parts of the cars:
The buses emit sounds peculiar transiting
To each gear in operation, accompanied
By the horns used in hundred different ways,
Topped by the tinkling brakes of bicycles.

Birdsong drowned by automobiles
Is the swan-song of Bandra East,
Pierced by the Mithi river
Frequented in winter mornings
By terns above and pink-legged visitors below.