A Bird, Google and a Smart Phone The young bird held the mobile phone Which she had bought on EMI and loan, Sold during half sale or quarter sale season; To buy a gadget she had a reason, She wanted to fly to the east coast, A message to her friend she did post, Both being pals on FB and WhatsApp; But she feared some mishap, For flying long distances wasn’t easy, The very thought made her queasy, But it was a visit long overdue And she had options very few, She was almost ready for the flight Which was to end just before the night, But she feared the fickle-minded weather, She wanted to reach intact, with skin and feather, “Let me read Google weather”, she said, She searched the site sitting on the bed, When Google warned of a severe gale, Her face turned a deathly pale, “I shudder to think of my fate Had I not read Google weather late, Thank the Lord I’m alive today To make a trip another day, I watched on the YouTube the damage, People paying their homage To the thousands that were dead And helping those in hospital bed, I thank Google app and the smart phone, But for those I’d have flown And lost my life in the gale, Alive now, I tell the tale” Raghav R 5 Jan. 2019 ©raghavendran Google has pervasive influence on human beings. There is none on earth who is unaware of Google, its various apps and activities. It has become an inseparable part of life like one's breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, etc. Its reach is so wide and vast that it has not left untouched even the lives of animals and birds. It is how I came to know of it. It so happened that one day I was sitting as usual on my bench in the park. Just overhead, I saw a bird looking at me very earnestly and trying to say