Through years of being a creature of the night–
Where thoughts only come alive past nine,
Where a silent world gives me reason to breathe,
I do not recall a time when I sought another
For the murderously simple joy of company.
And yet, outside every house I’ve ever lived,
There have been lush, green trees;
They’d rustle so quietly in the night,
Stroked by the gentlest cold breeze,
And on their branches, tiny companions I’ve never seen.
In the dead of many a night,
When the crickets get too shrill and loud,
Grating, screeching, unpleasantly,
You could almost hear a faint chirping,
You could tell it was there, but only barely.
On occasion, my mind would wander too far,
Too deep into the brambles and bushes of thought,
And the birdsong would lure me back–
Keep me tethered to reality,
Holding my hand as I stumbled my way out.
All through the years and the houses,
And the days I’ve spent beside my windows,
I’ve never once seen my tether to the world awake–
But cleverly camouflaged chirps sing out,
Like some invisible fairy folk or fae.
I’ve tried to rise with the sun on occasion,
For a mere glimpse of the ones who keep me company;
Their songs echo through the air,
And yet they remain unseen,
The most musical mystery to have ever been.
~© Shubhangi Srinivasan.
Today’s prompt via napowrimo.net is to write a poem that focuses on birdsong. I thought about it for a while, and I decided to write about the birds that have always been outside my window, no matter how many houses we’ve shifted to. There has always been some kind of birdsong to keep me company, now that I think about it. It may just be some sort of coincidence, but it has been a sort of alarm clock to me. Not in the sense that it woke me up in the morning, rather, it was always a reminder that I’d stayed up too late spending my time and energy on something I was working on; whether it was a crochet project, or an artwork, work, or even a book that I couldn’t really put down.
The minute I’d hear birdsong from my window, I’d know that I’d stayed up too late and that it would come back to bite me in the ass, in the day, You know, the time when I’m actually required to stay awake. Then again, I’ve never really been much for the daytime. I prefer the nights. I always have, and I don’t really have a reason for that.
Anyway! That’s my little story and poem for the day. See you tomorrow with a new one?
Yours truly,
The Shubhster.
If you like my poem, please do leave a comment or follow my blog! I write a lot of random but interesting stuff, and I try to keep it real. I’d love it if you went ahead and checked out more of my work, while you’re still here. If you think someone you know would appreciate the things I write, feel free to share my page with them! You can also reach out to me on my Twitter or Instagram handles. I always appreciate seeing new people come up to me and tell me they like what I write! It doesn’t happen as often as I would like for it to, but let’s change that, maybe?
This has been day 23 of 30!
See you tomorrow?
Cheerio! Xx
~Featured Image by Lidia Stawinska on Unsplash
The Shubhster Diaries 
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