Feathered friends

Art by Ashok

There were once I remember
Noisy morning pleasures;
Cute little browny sparrows
Life’s sweet, simple refreshers.

Chirping by my window
They woke me every morn;
Pecking on the glass pane
When my day was born

The birdbath in my court
Where they used to throng
Their favorite social spot
To preen and tweet their song

The city is now grown-
Concrete, Traffic and smoke.
Where trees swayed and bloomed-
Cars and crowds choke

The court is now deserted
My feathered friends are gone;
The Birdbath breeds mosquitoes;
In silence breaks the dawn

I stare at my glass window;
Through soot I see the future;
Looting, losing as we speak
The simple pleasures of nature

Today my daughter asked me 

 “What are sparrows dad?”
“Sweet little chirpers”, I told her
“Feathered friends I once had”.