I know you since
Since when I was a lass
A solitary lass
Who would perch upon
The edge of the stringed cot
Stranded standing against the wall
In the tubular verandah
Right in the middle –
Of my house and the courtyard,
The kitchen garden, the red grass
The sky-rocking papayas
And the over-lapping guavas
The beds of tomato far east –
You name it and you have it
A complete Spectrum of Beauty
As if communing with the gods above
And seeking more !
The downpour, it;s You –
The ever-so-loving pal
Of the tiny moss, the spiky fern
And the roses far west
For they know you as their Mum
Who sure would come sky-diving
Through the pageant of clouds
And bath them in Her massive tub.
“Miss Ebullient –
You Walk In Beauty”
They know thy gait from last time –
When you had come headlong, nose-diving
Jolting them out of their slumber
In the middle of the night
Waking them up to a surprise
And filling their bones with marrow
From the Orchards In Heaven
So they might procreate
And rejoice in the company
Of a mum whose arrival
Is ever so waited upon!
And what about me?
Sitting on the edge
Of the stringed cot
Waiting unto death
For a mate like you?
Going back in time
I am still the same lass
Sitting solitary, in the nook of my house
And awaiting your arrival
So you might unearth the soil
And spread thy moist perfume
Through my lungs –
Gone dry and hungry
Through years of Separation.
Damanjit Kaur
HOD Retd. Department of English
Guru Nanak Public School