Where did all the crows go?

Where did all the crows go?

says my disappointed mother

who is now sitting 

with an untouched bowl of

puri, kheer, khajur 

and ghughuti

What about others-

I ask?

Heaving a big sigh, she says,

No Sparrows, No Pigeons

Not even a squirrel

None…None…None

Gone, Gone, Gone !!

in these uncertain times

a bowl of uneaten ritual bound food

just adds on 

to the ever existing worry list

it’s so cold,

they will come tomorrow

I falsely assure her

and she nods

maybe the birds know 

we have Covid

maybe they too 

are socially distancing themselves

from the human race

now they have abandoned 

human residing roofs

only eating organic

from the swaying yellow 

mustard fields

maybe this time, it would be us

passing on our viruses

to other kinds

so they have gone,

gone with the wind

hiding in the

abandoned human buildings

but not eating 

human cooked food

after all, they too

have to survive

survival of the fittest

when humans will cease to exist

animal farm will become a reality

the earth would be ruled by birds

And maybe then

crows too, will cook

puri, kheer, khajur and ghughuti

Until then, 

They are Gone, Gone, Gone

There are None…None…None !!