A tête-à-tête so arresting

Poetry

Photo by Ron Lach from Pexels

As I brought the cup of tea
and the treats to the table
What I saw in front of me
was beyond incomparable

Majestically smiling through the velvet shades
Ah! Look at you! Look at you! Exclaimed my entire space
A dream or a reality- I gazed inwards for a reply
But tears made haste and splashed over my face

Ah! It was real, I finally discerned
As you whispered melodies in silvery cerise
Drenched in your aura, I thence held joy
Perched across the table, you were with such poise

How can one be alone, you said to me
When you open the eyes to the Sun
Glide in the breeze
Walk amidst the enchanting petrichor
Have tea and conversations with the Moon
And sleep in the starry streaks

What an enthralling visitor, I thought —
Overwhelmed, as your each feature shone bright
With astonished eyes, I paused and absorbed
This wonder which God bestowed upon this eventide

And I said, ah! That’s how expressions arise
That’s how dances take form
That’s how merry is made
That’s how poetry inks its way
That’s how music waltzes in
That’s how life gets within

You nodded and waved goodbye
Strolled back into the sky — greyish blue
Mesmerised at your beatific visage
A silken scarf that deftly flew

A cup of fragrant verses left behind
Those to sculpt the souvenir of our time
I pause and reflect and reflect and I pause
Pouring them into a poem as hues and chimes

The right string of words, I may never find
To turn this unforgettable conversation
Into an expression as touching and as divine
And so I wonder…

How would Emily D. have woven this spectacle into words
Or Mary Oliver into her poetry
Or Tagore into his prose amidst his serene solitude
Or Ghalib immortalised it into his shayari
How stirring it would be, I can only envisage
Their profound expressions — gleaming imagery
A wish I kiss into the vivid sky
As I bid this evening’s full-moon goodbye!

-GK