The Little Bird Poem by Shankaran Kutty

Sipping tea on the balcony I stood
When a little bird came flapping by
Lost in thoughts, I hadn’t seen her
She came as if dropped from the sky

It was raining hard and a wriggling worm
The bird held in its beak
For a safe and dry place to have its food
I thought the bird did seek.

And then it suddenly flew in fast
Through a hole in the mosquito net
It sat on the rail, its green plumage
I could see was shining wet

I ran in to raid my mother’s store
Peanuts was the present need
With a handful of nuts to the balcony I ran
The bird I wanted to feed.

She was still there, strutting about
On the wet balcony rail
Her eyes were red, the short neck too
Spotless was her long tail

Her beak was sharp, so scared was I
Yet the peanut filled hand I held out
She looked at me, as if to read my thoughts
In her heart still harboured a doubt

Then with a hop she stood on my hand
Around my wrist her claws
The peanuts went fast down her beak
Not for a second did she pause.

Her stomach full, she was off
Through the hole in the net in a trice
She soared in the sky, and was a distant spot
Far above the clouds did she rise
‘
Each day since then I would wait
With peanuts for my feathery friend
I know she will come back one day
Or so I hope, Hope itself has no end