Once lonely and lonesome having been
Shocked by a horrific scene
Went hiking on a mountain side
Where a fan of streams opened wide
Gargling throat down the slopes intertwined;
In a lake grown tulips behind
A forest of cedars that stand
Since time was known years in our land;
When on a bare lonely twig bent
Perched a nightingale; reticent
I gazed at her trying to see
The reason for her veiled ennui.
Without a word without a song
We gazed at each other, for long
I wondered and began to think
Linking link to link to unlink
The links of her thoughts chained together.
Whether I succeed or whether
I chase the wild goose on my way
Thinking of man and bird who stay
On this earth lassooed together
One with skin and one plus feather
Though at variance of strain and kind
They joy and grieve alike I find .
Thus wouldn’t I be right to say then
That bereaved birds sorrow like men ?
Hence I looked at the sky and said
But the bird and my dream have fled.