By Chandra B Rasaily
The pigeons fly
from one stone of the palace
to another
in singles or in flocks
as they like,
they fly from the time
the last brick was laid
and still today when they fall,
Pigeons inhabit every support
they can perch on
under the domes
over them
beneath the roofs
in the corners columns leave
under the carvings innumerable of them
and descend to the grounds
only to have their feeds.
They witnessed
ascensions of the kings
and their fall
they saw the births of the princes
and marriages of the princesses
they saw their love, their dissensions
saw their celebrations
and mourning spells,
they saw their conspiracies
being wrought in vaults
for a new king to emerge,
rewards being given and heads rolling down,
they saw their coffers
overflowing with gold
shining silvers and sparkling gems,
Dynasties rose and dynasties fell
but the pigeons
still inhabit the palace
flying through the air in all directions
and hiding in them
secrets of generations,
and pigeons will live on
till the last pillar
falls to the ground!