|
A few weeks after
our first meeting at the bus stop,
we happened to meet
often in the library,
in shopping malls,
at crowded concert halls
and on Saturdays in temple
she visited, her prayers to offer.
The seed of friendship
sprouted in our hearts.
I felt the breeze of her breath
blowing serenely on my shore.
One fine afternoon
she took me home
to meet her mother,
hear her holi songs,
see the album, the coins and stamps
she had collected over the years
and the birthday gifts of twenty summers…
She picked up her mother’s note,
mother is with a friend, shall return before dusk.
I had the liberty to go with her to the kitchen,
very neat she had kept –
the rolling pin, the cutting plate,
the knives, the tong and the peeler,
all at their places, she said, she helps mother!
So sweet of her, I appreciated with a tender nod…
Seeing my eyes roving for something
and my mind not at peace, she asked,
‘Are you looking for something else?’
‘Yes,’ in a hush said I, ‘Where is your love?’
Without uttering a single word
she came forward,
drew me near and placed my ear
on her youthful bosom.
The vibrations seemingly of an earth
before a volcano about to erupt, I felt.
It stirred up my frame and my heart!
|
