A Crow’s Journey to Heaven

He was old.

Too old to fend for himself.

He slept in the nest that a stranger built for him months back.

He gave her the only worm

That he had managed to catch by outstretching his neck.

He couldn’t have enough food since then.

His wings were heavy and eyes too droopy.

He ate whatever was thrown into his nest.

He could seldom see anything with his eyes open.

But he could see a lot more with them shut.

He spent his days, which he hoped were his last, praying.

As days neared, he started searching for God;

In the worms that he ate,

In the nest that he slept,

And in the tree that was his planet.

But God came flying from the sky,

In the form of a famished Eagle.

He bowed his head and folded his wings.

Life After Life

While on our way to heaven,

There’d be a fork stuck in the road.

Amid a famiy of trees,

I’d build a home for you and me.

 

Red roofs. Brown doors. Maroon grilled windows.

A pathway in the middle of green, green grasses.

Compound walls as high as our waists.

Swing and slides for our two little kids.

 

In the evening, we’d watch the blue, blue skies.

Stars, planets and cloud number nine.

Gentle breeze will come and kiss our cheeks.

The aroma of mud. And the sweet taste of wine.

 

Red roofs. Brown doors. Maroon grilled windows.

A pathway in the middle of green, green grasses.

Compound walls as high as our waists.

Swing and slides for our two little kids.

 

Reunion

He saw her.
She saw him too.
Both the hearts skipped a beat.
Had they done the right thing 10 years back,
Love and cheating wouldn’t have been landed
On the same side of the same coin.

Prayers

In between his folded hands, 
he felt His presence.

In between his forehead and the part of Earth that it touched, 
he felt His presence.

In between his thumb and index finger that moved the prayer beads, 
he felt His presence.

In between his lips that whispered the holy hymns,
he felt His presence.

But He wasn’t there.
Nowhere close to any of them.
For they disgusted Him 
When they despised the other Him.

Silhouettes

He came back, to what he was looking forward to all day,
To meet her.
Her eager eyes smiled
As he held her hand.
It was the 45th year
Since a couple of silhouettes
Started overshadowing the vivid, silver moon.