We Are The Birds Of The Open Skies Poem by Ravikumar C.P.

Hindi Poem by Shivamangal Singh Suman
Translation by C.P. Ravikumar

O we are the birds of the open skies,
We cannot sing cooped up in a cage.
Our fragile wings will crumble down
When they rub against the golden maze.
We, who drink from the flowing brook
Will of thirst and hunger die.
Sweet memories of wild berries n' corn
Will poison the sweetest apple pie.
Captive in these chains of gold,
We have begun to forget how to fly,
Or merrily swing on meadows high...
O those are dreams of days gone by!
There was a time when we aspired:
Of flying right past the horizon,
Of kissing the rays of the rising sun,
Of nibbling at those twinkling acorn;
We will soar as high as these wings can take,
Toward the zenith which lovingly beckons...
Either we make it to the very top, or
We breathe our last before it dawns...

Take away our worldly needs,
Our happy nest you may well destroy,
But pray leave us our wings, and the blue sky;
It's death if we can't flutter and fly...