Columnists
Under The Songbird's Wing
FELICIA KAUR JODHKA
A mother bird is working tirelessly to make a nest in my back porch. She accepts her mortality and knows that there will be a time when she will be no more.
So, she brings forth a life into this world that will carry on her biological legacy, the genetic fabric of her very being. And, she invests herself wholeheartedly and steadfastly to ensure the survival of it. She knows this is the only way to physically free herself from the shackles of time.
Her young understand their mother’s plight:
I nestle comfortably over a foundation built by the sheer power and strength of your physical capacity. I thrive within the warmth of fibers and threads that have been interlocked by your patience and your resolve. I seek solace in your song, and I take refuge under your wing.
But, despite all that you have provided, I will use my wings to soar away from the layers of your fortitude and sacrifice. For, like you, it is only in giving myself wholly to another that I set myself free!
What an absolutely breathtaking perspective of nature’s understanding of time and sacrifice and love and life and death — a priceless treasure all bundled snuggly into a mother bird’s nest.
I am a song-bird, I am a meek song-bird; I offer my prayer to the Lord.
If only I could meet the Guru, O meet the Guru, my Beloved; I dedicate myself to the devotional worship of the True Guru. [Guru Granth Sahib]
June 5, 2018
Conversation about this article
1: I J Singh (N. Bellmore, New York, USA), June 07, 2018, 11:28 AM.
What better than to remember 1984 by life's endless journey and love. Thank you, your prose has the rhythm of poetry.
2: Preetinder Singh (Liverpool, United kingdom), June 07, 2018, 1:34 PM.
An exquisite metaphor! Your essay is as sweet as the songbird's ...