No longer lonely

He liked the sight of rainy skies The glow of stars and moon at night Old books beside a crackling flame, And quiet days that stayed the same

He did not care for crowded lands For noisy streets or shouting bands Years ago, he chose to flee And made his home under a tree

Nilani soared through city light That always gleamed throughout the night She loved the music, busy squares Bright market stalls and fancy wares

The Shoyru hated mud under her feet Buzzing bugs, the summer heat And thought the outdoors quite absurd Too wild, too silent, too unstirred

Though one cloudy evening deep in green Fate decided to intervene The Shoyru, leaving the city behind Suddenly became scared out of her mind

She’d lost her map, her path, her pride With towering trees on every side Then from the brush stepped Kali near Who blinked in awkward, startled fear

“You scared me!” Nilani cried “You screamed first,” the Kougra denied Still, seeing how her wings did shake He led her home beside the lake

She wrinkled up her nose at tea Complained of mud and every tree While Kali listened by the fire To tales of rooftops climbing higher

The lonely Kougra softly learned That friendship can arrive unearned And Nilani began to see The forest had its own beauty

For though they differed night and day And viewed the world in a different way The city sky and forest air Became a bond the two could share

Now, every few weeks, she would return Though every bug still makes her squirm And Kali smiles more than before No longer lonely anymore.