A long time back when I was a rather ruthless child, I found a scared baby sparrow in our balcony. I harboured anger against them, the little chirpy birds They stole and ate every flower bud that our plants gave birth to. This little piece of feathery enemy sat there like a blob of confusion And I decided to have some fun with it. I meant to scare it a little Have my revenge Then feed it some puffed rice using tweezers Until it learnt to fly and join its mafia gang of the flower-eaters. I am being candid when I say There was absolute malice in my smile When I approached the tiny trembling bird And shouted “SHOO” at it. I knew it would be scared shitless But ha! Where would it go, flightless little blob of feathery meat? As I looked at it, basking in its helpless hazard, I saw- It gathered all the strength it could conjure; In a motion that was a mixture of rolling, running and gliding, It moved through the gaps in the banisters of the balcony railing And fell down two storeys Straight to its death. The evil smile that I had, turned into a gape of horror What had I done? It has been years since I killed the bird, Yet it returns to me every time I’m in a room full of strangers My first instinct being To roll-glide-run And plunge to death.
mimimusing 