The Dance Of Fall

Image from Unnati Silks

Notes rich with angst pierce through the evening
The strings weep
Cutting deep in the skin
Heavy with the loss of a love that has never been

Across the chasm of time
Meera whirls in dance
Her voluminous skirts soaked with kesar¹
The earthy red of her skin lit
With the molten gold of the cooling sun
Her pazeb² beat rhythmic
Her bruised feet leave lasting imprints
On the Sands of Rajasthan
In the ruins of an Empire
She moves to the beat of Fall

The queen that never was
For a lover she’s never seen

~

Radha

1. Hindi for saffron
2. Pazeb are silver chains with tinkling bells worn around the feet

In response to the Fall prompt by Shobha Roy

The music below inspired this piece.

Ravanhatha is a traditional Rajasthani instrument. Video from here.

This story was published in The Cotton Thread — weaving life with words. If you want to be a writer in our publication, click here.