Winter

Mornings like these
Take me back
To autumn nights
In quilts of patch.

Wrapped in you
With the breeze wrapping us
Humming along to your thoughts
Merrily under the stars.

Happy was I, naively so,
Watching the sun brighten the shore
Tea in hand, coffee in yours
Scented by the land,
I couldn't have asked for more.

There's the mist, here comes the chill
Reminding me I have spaces to fill
As I swing alone on our porch today
Sweet melancholy no longer at bay.

Mornings like these, take me home
To another life, another norm.

Colourful was my palette how,
Leaving it with only now
A little grey, a little blue
And a lot more lonely,
Without you.

(The frozen Shungetsar Lake captured, in Arunachal Pradesh, India.)

It’s Time

It’s been awhile
That we drove for a mile,
The sun shining bright
And the full moon high.
Do you remember me
pointing out to the sky?
As you rode through the night
Letting me fly.

It’s been awhile
Since we danced to a song,
Barefeet in the dark,
In the shadows we belonged.
Don’t you have memories
Of stolen moments as these?
Where the song played right
Along with the night.

Time heals, but does it really
Fix the broken or soothe over only;
Timeless, they say, some stories are
Could ours have been too,
If the end wasn’t near?
Oh but, how would I know,
Since the end is here.
Oh but, what would I know,
Now that the end is here.

The Lost Passage

Kissed by the rains
I close my eyes
Seeking out my childhood
With a bittersweet sigh.

Sweetest is my smile
As I’m lost in a time
When I gave myself over
To the world that was mine.

The blithe cool warmth
The fuzzy warm chill
Offered me a home where
My heart couldn’t be still.

Tap, tap, tap
As I slowly began a dance
A pause here, a look there
Oh, who cares if I’m in a trance!

A cute little sneeze
Only made me happier
As I burst into giggles
And life couldn’t be prettier.

Eyes had a twinkle
Nose delightfully in a crinkle
Alas, is it my face now
Or the mirror that is wrinkled?

The wings have been cut
My reach confined
But the soul sits restless
The heart still beats wild.

The gleam is gone
From eyes made to lower
So let me close them today
To shelter this moment forever.

(Photograph captured in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India)

Age vs. Time

It’s no secret amongst my people
How birthdays lurch me into a muddle
Beneath the thrill and anticipation of the day,
A sense of unease churns my way.

The knots in my stomach, the tightness of my heart
Together with joy, has come to play a part.

It feels silly to even put into words
The fear that creeps in with the advent of the day,
Hard to wrap my head around the fact that
Coming of age cannot be kept at bay.

It’s irrational, the anxiety of growing ‘old’
Since I’ve been wiser, watching life unfold
Often told “It’ll only get better, you see,
Life happens now, why aren’t you ready?”

Am i not? Maybe not yet.
Lost innocence tugs at me with delicate threads
A simple time, of carefree days
Lures me back from life’s erratic ways.

I’d love for a birthday to just be that again
One to celebrate and thank for all I’ve gained
To weave my past with the blessings of the new
Without the tethers of anxiety in age.

Is it just me who feels this way?
Absurd as it may be, I hope someone relates
Does a gain of age mean a loss of time?
Oh hush, sweet child, in my heart you’re still alive.

(Throwback to a gleeful birthday on a certain May 24th)

The Song that calls me Home

There was once, a song or two
That called me home, home to you.

I was lost in a haze, of sun and sand
A drive by the ocean, to another land
A sweet escape, it was meant to be
Past all the bitterness, I wanted to see
Few new colours, a new face maybe
A smile in a while, to set me free.

I should’ve known, seen it coming
For it wasn’t new, but a long time running.

The voice crooned, a soft melody
Taking me places I had left behind me.
A whisper in my ear, a caress on my skin
A tickle on my arm, the song played me like a string.

Turning around, no longer certain
I let the roads show me the way
With a little hope, and a flutter in my heart
For a little more could break me apart.

I thought I knew, saw it coming
Could’ve fooled myself, with words promising.
Silence and hurt greeted me so warm
For a moment I wondered,
If this is where I now belonged.

Left no trace when you left this place
The one in our hearts,
We used to call home
I’m back in the streets
Coursing through lanes
Of memories old and dreams long gone.

The music is the same,
Just a tad more blue
As it no longer sounds like the song I knew
The one that you sang, and I held so true
The song that brought me home to you.

(Photograph captured in the Tawang-Bomdila route in Arunachal Pradesh, India)