Caution the Unsuspecting

The fan-tailed flycatcher pair was seen

Frequenting the area behind the house.

The bush of the trimmed bamboo trees

Swaying with delight to see the visitors a new.

The melody generator sweet little birds,

happy to find the place good enough

To make the nest guarded and secured

for laying and hatching the eggs

Easy accessed, hidden from evil eyes

Young ones would be sheltered and safe.

Hardly they could imagine the lurking,

wicked paws of the jumping cat

to trample the nest from the branch

which appeared protected and shielded.

Few months ago, the cat attacked a nest,

pulled it down from the branch.

And oh dear! The young ones from inside,

were picked and gnawed.

The uncontrollable distress of the parent birds

was beyond anybody’s capacity to bear

Somebody should caution

these unsuspecting parent birds.

Of the danger hidden in this

safe looking bush of bamboo.

Someone should advise them to look for

unrestricted growing bamboo bushes

Where a nest on high branch there

would be out of reach of small four footed.

To go away, into deep forest.

Where the domestic cats

won’t be wandering,

with their evil eyes rolling.

Vijay Likhite