Bird with a Vision

By Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

Birds flying over forest.

I saw how the forest below was burning
And elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, deer, sun-bears, hornbills were climbing the air
A crazy, colorful, biodiverse amalgamation.
I saw how the dead drifted away like smoke
Both from cities, from forests.
How the animals’ and the humans’ phantoms became one
At the stratosphere.
How they were playing mid-air
Shapeless,
In glee,
Wings branching out of their backs
What a peaceful coexistence it was.
Paws tangled with hands
Hands with paws.
Tails tangled with legs.
Legs with tails.
I saw it float up and up—
That crazy amalgamation of the dead from the cities and the forests—
Raindrops backwards.
Crowd in the sky.
Population of ghosts.
Orchestra of the dead.
Snaking towards heaven,
Shapeless, in glee, singing and singing.

Category: Poetry