every time she went gently by
i felt like saying a mellow bye
to friend and foe alike, and to family too
for in all honesty that whistle had me dangling
like fruit about to fall from the mother twig
i heard the enigmatic whistle of the kite
a thin eerie sound that spelt doom to stray chicks
i heard the drone of the horrid ground horn-bill in my heart
and shook in my boots; the birds in my life were portentous
You see, there was never a bird in sight at all
yet the songs were shrill and so distinct they made me fall
the day she came by and i heard the call of a laughing dove
was the day that fire rained in torrents from above
and she was gone for good with all her numinous secrets