Ornithology

Well, I don't know its name ... perhaps a cardinal, or a magpie, or a white-breasted orange-bill or something, but I know him [now now, don't say it's a female] for a long time. Vis-à-vis, not more than 15 seconds, but still, I know his posture, the way he stares at nothing, and the way he sits there, alone, his world fading into invisibility, blurred horizons guarding the limits of his life, and the green that surrounds him, only to fake the pleasantries life usually put forward, and the greens followed by other greens, only floating, and fading, and flirting with him. I say, I know him. I've seen him in my dreams, in my memories, in my mirrors.

Photo © Barun K Bakshi