Jatayu Poem by Shankaran Kutty

A forlorn sight he was to behold
Lying on the forest floor
His wings were clipped, life ebbing
And energy he had no more

But he willed to live, to save his breath
Till his Lord he saw to tell
Him that he saw his lady he met
Taken by Ravana to his hell

As vision blurred, his movements slowed
His mind stayed alive to fill
With events of just a few hours back
Events, he refused to believe them still

He was the king of flight and here he was
Alone, flying so high
When all at once he thought he heard
From afar, a helpless cry

He came down from up the clouds to see
The Lanka King in flight
And a hapless woman, in tears, sobbing
And no energy to fight

Shame to thee O King he cried
To kidnap a woman so weak
Her looks regal, a queen for sure
But a woman still, so meek

He waited not for the king to reply
But turned to the lady by the side
Tell me O queen the kingdom for which
You are the royal pride.

Sita I am, from Ayodhya I come
Brave Rama is my Lord
You look so brave oh Avian King
Can you take me to his abode?

He stopped in mid flight, astounded to see
The Goddess here so near
To thy Lord I will take thee he roared
My Lady, you have no fear

He turned to face the Lanka King
Fool you are, he said
Lakshmi she is, the consort of my Lord
Whose hands you now have held

Who is Rama a thrown out king
More pleasures to her I will give
Said Ravana in pride and anger
As my royal queen she will live

Jatayu’s eyes burned with rage
To hear the king thus speak
You are a coward, I will kill you now
You will never get what you seek

With pointed beak and talons sharp
He swooped down to attack
But with weapons more and better trained
Lankesh soon fought back.

It was a royal battle that lasted long
Poor Sita sat cowed in fear
The bird though brave was no match she could see
And the end was soon so near

With a roar that echoed over the hills
With a mighty swipe of his sword
The Lankan king clipped the wings
Of the brave, yet hapless bird

And he tumbled through the air so fast
And fell on the earth with a thud
Beak broken, wings clipped
And body covered in blood

Of what use is my life he cried
If I can’t do even this for my Lord
If my life is of no good to anyone
Then why did you give it, O God

He cried and sobbed in eternal sadness
Sita’s cries still echoing in his ears
His body bleeding but the heart was burnt,
Burnt by his Lady’s tears

Take my life, not because I am scared to live
He cried to the heavens above
But if I was of no good to a blessed soul
When fit, then what use is it to me now

The he thought he heard an inner voice
Reach out to him from deep inside
Don’t despair my child, each life I give
Has its time which you too should bide

You should live, for a day will come
Lord Rama will fill your life
When he will come from land so far
In search of his dear wife

And then you should tell him your brave story
Of what happened to his very dear
Of how you fought and how you tried
Without any mortal fear

And then with joy he will take you in his arms
And hold you in joyous embrace
What more do you want in life than to be held
By the savior of the human race

And thus he found the will to live
Guided by his inner voice
As around him life moved on
Deafened by the forest noise

Jatayu was a noble soul
Blessed by the Lord himself
But in his thought s I searched the meaning
The voice of my inner self

And then I hope that I will find
That amongst all the doom
In the slush of life’s eternal sorrows
A lotus will one day bloom