The Three Pigeons

The Three Pigeons

The land was barren, the skies foggy

Broken houses, broken bones and broken hearts

It is how war looked today, everyday

Victory was out of sight and out of mind

The ground was painted with vermillion lines

The air painted with gunpowder smoke

A vague sense of death filled sadness

Like a choked scenery with no survivors

But with a war still to be won

Men flocked and hurled at each other

Their souls now deaf and dumb

Only service guns and bullets did the talking

With the whole place burning in ashes

Sat three pigeons atop a telephonic wire

The three pigeons had no reason to panic, for

War would end them all, sooner or later

And they sat close and watched on the deeds of man

Each of them pointing in different directions

The first pigeon called on the others for attention,

Their eyes peered into a noisy dark shack

A noise, a suppressed voice, a girl held against her choice

Curses turned to sobs and sobs turned to silence

Where could she run? Who could she call?

Surrounded by soldiers, it was just a war

Not alone was the helpless girl, the pigeons realised

As a child sat tearfully by the roadside

No family, no friends, no foes

He sat helpless much like the birds, only sadder

And called up on the hordes of marching men

But who would notice, it was just a war

Boom! A roof ripped open- pieces and skulls

So violent was the shell, it even frightened the birds

The first pigeon more anxious than the rest, as

He flew aimlessly from the rope he clinched

And flapped across the smoking land

When another shell fell in place

Killing the bird and a dozen who thought they were safe

Sat two pigeons atop the telephonic wire

The two pigeons had no reason to panic, for

War would end them all, sooner or later

Turning their little bird necks the pigeons watching on

To see yards and trees shrivelled...ablaze

To see crushed well and a dry skinned river

And with two hungry dogs stranded like the child

They fought each other over uniformed casualty

Bullets and blood, more bullets than blood

Oh! And a man ran with desperate pace

Marooned deserter in a land of no escape

'Kill them all' echoed the vengeful mercenaries

Horror flags in the air, thunder, lighting in the sky

A burning pyre housed the prey man to death

Prefer honour even at death, it was the law of war!

'The man escaped the enemy and died a free man'

Both pigeons laughed and chirped at the rhetoric of men

Roaring artillery, missile, cannons and bombs

White flags and surrendering men blown apart

Thud! A hit, a sound, another pigeon muffled and down

The two looked each other, eye to eye without any last goodbye

And the second one dropped to the ground, motionless

Sat one last pigeon on top of the telephonic wire

Left alone, the pigeon had no reason to panic, for

War would end them all, sooner or later

Waiting to shake off his morality soon,

The pigeon turned his attention again to pictures dreadful

To see a frozen brave heart lie against his jeep seat

With the face of his beloved clinched inside his fist

To whom he would never return, as her memories will burn

Spat a rambling enemy on the dead man's face, just a part of war

And scenes such as these terrified the bird at last

Pained and lonely he wanted his end to come fast

The pigeon could see humanity had lost its heart

'See you soon' thought the little pigeon of his dead friends

I have seen enough, I have seen enough

But the day turned to dusk and dusk turned to darkness

The firings and bloodshed came to a halt

The lonely bird sat still, still on the wire waiting for death

But the war had ended just like the day

And the bird had no one to take his life away

Such was the cruelty of man's war

That it left most dead and burdened the rest with life