Fiddler on the Roof

Have you ever heard
The silence of the jungle?
Are your ears attuned to
The secret whispering of its trees?

Have you ever heard
The surreptitious sound of
Dry twigs, shrivelled leaves and fallen blossoms of
Mighty banyans, tall arjuns and lantana bushes
As they are crushed alike
Beneath a majestic tread?

And the flash of velvety
Gold and ebony stripes as they
Vanish into the undergrowth —
Have you ever noticed that?

Has your spine ever stiffened
From a faraway langur call;
From the nervous snorting of a sambar pair;
From the sight of fresh pug marks on soft earth;
Or the sudden, tumultous flight
Of a herd of chittal?

And the flash of velvety
Gold and ebony stripes as they
Vanish into the undergrowth —
Have you ever noticed that?

Have you ever noticed that?
The slow but steady dwindling of
That regal flash of
Gold and ebony stripes as they
Vanish forever into the underbelly
Of Adam's greed and Eve's vanity?

Have you ever?