parting ways

Six ravens sat on a wire once. They had never planned this, this black tie soiree and high wire circus act in one. But after years of defecating on unsuspecting strangers alone, they learnt from the iron birds men flew and decided cluster bombing was the way to go.
Six ravens sat on a wire once. They didn't all stay there all day. Each had his life, digging for worms, cawing at the sexy light grey exotic down by the next pole, and sometimes heading up to the tallest branch on the tallest tree just to get away from it all. But every morning they returned, feasting on their collective lack of drive to do anything beside sit on a wire.
Six ravens sat on a wire once, and had some fun times up there. Until one decided he didn't like the dull blue pigeons down the road and went off to join the dark haired grungy ravens that were driven enough to kill a few of those damned ingrates. Another tried, but was colour blind and ended up in the company of bright green parrots. But these were parrots used to years of human company, the high life. And so all they could remember now was the false name that gave them a false humanity-- polly. And like the humans around them, they talked all day long but never said anything. And the raven thought them smart.
Four ravens sat on a wire. But one had heard of an oasis in the middle of the desert, where the water flowed thick and black and burnt with the bright red fire of the millions killed to lay claim to it. And he went to the burning sands and the undrinkable water to gather the uneatable paper to line his nest egg with. And another heard of a meadow, where men ate the trees and made so much smoke that they couldn't see the hand before their face. And he went off, to shit on an old woman who did little but wave at the men who taxed themselves to buy her gold slippers and a stone castle, while they froze to death living in houses of cards.
Two ravens sat on a wire. But one had begun to look closer to the ground, where the wind didn't blow so hard, and passersby threw morsels of tasty pizzas and looking glass lives.
And then there was one.

To Sandeep, who leaves to drink fully from the fountain of money in one of the driest regions of the world.