
Written around February 2016
Meena Kumari complex
I was drowning in still water
For the first few moments
My thoughts uncluttered
As they struggled for a vent
The next few were a delight
The lungs collapsed unto themselves
As slowly as summertime
And the muscles spasmed
The last few were a paradox
I looked down at infinity
And I looked up at hope
All of what I savaged could be
And was
Right in front of me
And in this tragedy
I met peace
And amidst all this
I find you waiting
You looked lost and incomplete
Your innocence fragmented
Drop by drop
Piece by piece
Now I float in a river
Under heavy rain
It’s unlike the peace I once knew
But it’s oblivious to duress
And the stream tries so hard
To control me
But I had already surrendered
To her turns and twists
And amidst all the rush
The ebb and flow
All my notions broke free
Two lost souls touched
Seed by seed
Piece by piece
And now from time to time
I push my hand out
To brush with what the earth
Has to offer
And most times there runs
A precipitated warmth
Which touches like summer
But feels like rain
And of all the walks
And the hugs
And the warmth of intertwinings
Or the comfort
Or the silence
Or the dusks and dawns
Cherished together
Remembrance after a while
In our minute existence
Is not the child of memories
But of feelings and how we felt
If everything is distilled to feelings
I wouldn’t want to remember all this
If I can’t sit in front of you
And look into your eyes
From time to time
If I can’t sit by your side
Sigh a little
And lean on your shoulder
From time to time
From place to place
Whilst the day
Gives into the night