Far from the village in the old mansion dwell,

Long lost stories that no one will tell.

Only doves, sparrows and herrings would lay,

In the front yard pool on a summer day.

Few squirrels squeaked on the big old tree,

Armies of ants marched, happy and free.

I won't rather speak of the above,

This is the tale of a jade eyed dove.

A beauty she was, elegant and naive,

Like ivory clouds, she beamed with vive.

The bird wished she could fly high south-

She wished she could touch the cloud.

Of course she was in love –

In love with the rain, the jolly young dove.

She heard the hermit bird say at the pool,

That the rain is gloriously wonderful,

It beholds seven colors of virtue in embrace,

Love, joy, pain, hope, courage, ambition and grace.

But the rain hides inside the cloud,

Only to fall when the thunders strike loud.

When the rain falls there's no color,

The virtues only touch a soul with valor.

To have them you must not let the rain fall,

At least catch a drop after all.

Day turned to night and night to day.

The bird was restless, but quietly she lay.

There were many clouds though,

Light as feathers in the blue sky.

There were darker ones too,

But all did fly high.

The bird flew from this tree to that,

It was restless, as a matter of fact.

The sky never slept, it called on and on,

The dark clouds like gallant sailors moved on.

"That's foolish of you, oh silly bird!

The rain is dull, not colored as you heard"

Chuckled a skeptic sparrow with dark grey eyes,

Yes of course he was Despair in disguise.

Seldom did the dove know

That every virtue had a dark foe.

This was Hope's counterpart,

If trusted, he could tear her apart.

She kept quiet and continued to long.

Her heart still crooned the rainbow song.

They mocked at her, the fellow mates,

Her friends asked to consider the stakes.

"The rain is good it brings us life,

But in too much rain you can't survive".

"Do not dare unfold your wings to it,

It's wise to watch from the nest as you sit"

"Yes, when it falls, it's not colorful,

But later you can bathe in its pool"

This is what her friends had to say,

But somehow she was not to obey.

She met more vices in the days after,

She ignored them with a bold laughter.

One night the clouds went tremendously mad,

They screamed and screamed, it was very sad --

Then came a storm, the wind blew hard.

All the birds lay quiet in the nest,

Some in the mansion's roof,

Some in the attic's broken chest.

She left her nest and flew out thither,

Trinkets of rain touched her feather.

Then slowly she took a sharp ascent,

However the sky was still not decent.

The trinkets transformed into heavy blows,

She advanced curbing her muffled moans.

The more she flew she could sense,

A searing pain causing her muscles tense.

"Pain is the first color you would see"

Said the sky, the bird chirped

"It will not stop me".

"This is Ambition that speaks" said the voice.

"I must go on" she breathed on poise.

"Ah, I see Courage taking hold of you",

"Come on young bird, the rain drops are but few!

Her wings were now heavy with rain,

The bones started breaking with pain.

She looked down once for a glimpse,

She loved her crowd whom now she will miss.

Now came the sense of Love and loss.

Her life had changed in a toss.

She felt happy, though she was sad,

May be Hope was not so bad.

The sky exclaimed "Oh, you have grace as well"

"Your story, my clouds will always tell"

"Come; waste your time no more"

Above her she could hear the clouds roar.

There was a cloud that was passing quite low,

She decided to give that a go.

She flew inside with all her strength,

The cloud broke in a violent wrench.

She plunged herself in the deadly dark,

There was silence, nothing she could hark.

Then she saw a rain drop float,

Gently it swayed in and touched her coat.

The friction made it shatter apart,

Infinite colors swam to touch her heart.

Well, this is for real, says the village lore.

By now, the bird you must adore.

Like her we all have a beautiful soul.

Our virtues do make us whole.