The Unbroken

It’s a windy day today.
Even the mighty eagle is
uncomfortable in flight.
It is now afternoon.
I sit on the balcony
thinking of something to think about. A
couple has been working all morning,
on the roof of a distant house.
Their hands, they have devoted,
to building the dreams of others.
The woman rubs her back for a
moment as she waters the new brick
walls. Perhaps she is tired? Tired of
her fate? Nonetheless, she carries on.

On the window frame of the
house opposite mine sits another
couple. A couple of pigeons with
a wish
to build a nest.
They never get tired.
I have lost count of the number of
times they have laid their eggs.
Not one of them hatched.
Yet they keep building their nests.

A twig is stuck in the hinges.
The pigeon keeps trying to pull it out
while its partner flies to get more. It
strains its head and shakes its neck
to claim that twig back.
But to no avail!

Defeat, however, it will not accept. It gets
back with renewed vigour every time,
showing no sign of surrender.
Of such strength is the force of
life and the urge to create!

O pigeon! Do you know that?
Or do you do it merely
from the force of habit?
I have this knowledge and
yet I do not understand you.
Nor do I understand that lady on the
roof or that boy who gets up to fly kites
every day without ever being able to.
His kites never soar up in the air, yet he
does not stop trying.
How can you not give up?
I do not understand any of you.

But wait! The pigeon has
stopped. Perhaps it has given
up?
It now sits still.
Do you then agree with me,
pigeon? Of course not! There it
goes again. Bloody pigeon!
Wrestling with a twig!
Trying to teach me meaning
where I can find none.

I get up in frustration.
But as I am about to slam my door
shut, I see a strange thing.
The twig has broken and
the pigeon now flies away
in search of another;
unbroken.
I watch in awe as it braves the
wind, swaying and tilting as it goes.
It does know when to give up;
when to let go,
ever to seek anew.
What a creature!

Sounak Banerjee is a recent graduate in Sociology from Hindu College, Delhi University. He loves reading books, especially philosophy and fiction and watching the autumn sky.

Featured image:  Ronan Furuta / Unsplash