Aubade

Aubade (1) Twitter of sparrows In the vegetable garden, A peacock's shrill whistle In the thickets at a distance, A couple of mynas making their nest In the jack fruit tree while talking their love, A pair of doves Murmuring prayers to Cupid, the female couching For her handsome mate to mount her. (2) Humming of the bees where flowers abound In all hues and colours A plethora of varieties An inimitable mix of fragrance Cupid's blooming arrows everywhere The coolest morning breeze The morning sun bright Spreads a veil of moonlight. (3) A female weaver bird Has come to inspect The nest built by her mate Hanging off the coconut tree leaf. She likes it perhaps, for he is invited To join her in the nest for a few moments And together they fly off into the skies Chirping madly, their voice laced with love. (4) A parakeet in a green coat And with a ruby necklace Chirped to her fiancé While gnawing at a ripe papaya. (5) A flock of jungle barblers Scrounging in the grains Spread in the yard for drying For worms and insects Making a big hue and cry, Suddenly flock to the mango tree With loud protests For, Panther, my pet cat Has just moved in, With his soft but ominous meow. A pair of squirrels That were eagerly eyeing the grains Run up the Ashoka tree in a miff, Squeaking loudly to warn their mates Of the feline danger imminent. (6) At a distance, I hear a raven crow As a pack of dogs go wild barking And Panther quietly retreating To the safety under the car. (7) In my neighbor's barn Despite the dogs' warn His cows take turns to moo Refusing the grass loose Calling on their bull, A goat bleats in the distance Maybe looking for shade. (8) A large flock of cranes Make a loud cacophony While flying back From their nocturnal abode to the fields just harvested In search of food. (9) 'Coohoo coohoo' sings a cuckoo On the mango tree fully flowered Whose sweet smell enriches the breeze, Now her mate joins her singing, And love abounds. (10) All around me, life is vibrant! What am I doing sitting at home?