To be or not to be,
That’s the question we pose to thee,
Lesser in number,
We are facing threats that are greater,
In the land, we are hunted as prey,
In the sky, we collide with wires that sway,
It’s getting hard to find a safe place for us to lay,
Or soon we will be part of history if things go this way,
Once we walked on the grasslands of India, with our heads held high,
And today we cower with fear and remember those glorious days with a sigh,
We are a species who love peace and tranquility,
But surrounded by those who fought with intense enmity,
For land, revenge or honour,
But to save us, you need a vision that crosses borders,
By protecting us from being dragged to the black hole of extinction,
It’s your generation who is getting a healthy extension,
As we control the pests that harm your food,
And help you reduce the use of chemicals which are not good,
We seek more support from people with ecological foresight,
It is unfair to consider us as silly birds with bad sight,
Life has been made hard for us in the wild so we request for reports that are written with sensitivity,
It’s reassuring to hear about some hopeful improvement in efforts to breed us in captivity,
Hope is still there as some are trying hard to prevent a calamity,
The will is alive in some resilient souls to give us an opportunity,
Petitions and articles about us are creating a lot of hue and cry,
Yet on the ground, our destiny lies in the determination of a few who try,
Is it too late that you have noticed our plight?
Are you ready to sacrifice some of your convenience for our fight?
© Nishand Venugopal. All rights reserved.
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