Two Headed Bird Poem by Shankaran Kutty

Come hither children and I will tell you
Something from the past, so fun
A story that is so refreshingly new
Come, and I will tell every one

So it was a very long time ago
In some northern kingdom there lived
A beautiful parrot, in the palace garden
But she was of a special breed

With a plume that shone so dazzling bright
And coloured in blue and green
She was the most beautiful that ever was
And the world had ever seen

But by some cruel twist of fate
Or God’s special decree
She had heads not one, but two indeed
Very strange it was to see

And the heads would often be in love
Or sometimes engage in fight
A two-headed parrot with body one
Was indeed a strange little sight

It was a day in early spring
When the fruits were beginning to ripen
And to get the choices fruits each day
Early, she would awaken

Searching for fruits so ripe and sweet
She combed the palace garden
When one of the heads found a mango ripe
Its hue was so bright and golden

She pounced upon with obvious glee
On the fruit so sweet and fresh
As one head looked with hope and greed
The other pecked through the succulent flesh

“Hey I too want a taste of that
Of that juicy fruit, my share
How can you eat that all alone
How can it ever be fair”

So said the head that never got a taste
As the other gulped the delicacy
Take it easy, another we will find”
She screamed, in obvious ecstasy

“And please my dear, why worry thus?
The next is yours have no fear
So please do not sulk and let us search
Aren’t we one, my dear.”

But that offered little solace
To the head in obvious despair
She swore she will take sweet revenge
To the head that was to her unfair

A day or two then passed by, when
The garden floor they forayed
When the head in despair, got her wish
A fruit she got in her raid.

It was the fruit of the poison oak
That she found on the garden floor
And to take revenge on her foe did she
Pick it up to devour

No, don’t you ever do that my dear
The other head did plead
But in the heat of anger never did she
The tearful requests heed.

And in the fit of anger then did she
To spite her foe, other head
Swallowed the fruit, without any remorse
And soon did she fall dead

In the tears of this sad demise
This story does end then
But from this story of the twin headed bird
Is a lesson for all, my children

This happens oft in today’s world
In the darkest alleys of our life
Sordid tales of revenge and kill
Tales of unwanted strife

And oft when we in anger or scorn
Hurt those we despise
We hurt ourselves with those actions which
We did without thought, in a trice.

So never shall we in a negative mood
Take any action in haste
To repent later, or going forth
See our life go waste

The best way to kill your foe
Is to be nice and kind
When the foe is dead would then arise
A true and loyal friend