The Lone Pigeon and I

She lingered a moment there, beaming sweetly at me,
And mutely watched us converse,
A gleam of love, I was sure, I caught in her eyes,
Which, as it were, prompted many a romantic verse.

A huge temple tree, abloom, stood over us,
With a bark like a monitor's back;
Surmises and thoughts and my feelings were all diffuse,
Like scattered cards of a pack.

Scouring the lawn for grains, there were two little pigeons,
A couple of glad-hearted lovers;
I remembered how we, like them, ourselves had enjoyed,
Chatting with each other for hours.

She tarried there no longer than a few seconds,
But I deemed it was an age;
Then she rose, bade me adieu and slowly glided off
Like a Thespian exiting the stage.

Away flew one pigeon as she walked off,
Leaving the other bird alone;
I wondered if it felt the same pangs of parting as I,
With its sweet-mate gone!

Just Heard or Listened to?

Now I wonder whether I just heard,
Or listened to her movements behind me,
As she descended the flight of stairs,
Stepped onto the landing,
Walked through the narrow gap,
Between the two hedgerows,
Lining the long, two-storied hall,
Crossed the leaf-strewn tarmac beyond it,
Trod on the pebbles,
Scattered on the grassless earth,
By the old Tamarind tree,
Climbed on to the makeshift bridge-
Three narrow crude planks,
Overlying a crude cube of sand,
Spanning the grassy ditch,
Started down the footpath,
Meandering through the meadow,
Sidestepped to avoid the knotty roots
Of the Kahata tree,
Gripping the footworn path,
Walked onto to the concrete lid of the drain,
By the tall lamp-post.

For better or for worse

A wandering eye
Met a shy eye,
An invisible link
Established itself;
In the space of an eventful second,
The world changed.

Candlelight

When a black-out occurred,
Drowning our home,
In a deep sea of darkness,
I struck a match,
And lit a candle,
In my room.

As I lay on my bed,
Watching the candle,
Emitting pale, languorous light,
A lovely thought struck me,
‘Her love is like this candlelight itself!’

But a sudden gust of wind,
Through the open casement,
Invaded my room,
And blew it out,
Re-drowning the room,
In eerie, dreadful darkness.

‘What’d become of me,
if I lost her too?’
I shuddered
At my own thought….

We watched the sweet drizzle….

We watched the sweet drizzle, sitting side by side,
As it kept tickling the earth;
I teased you and you teased me in return,
So full, really, were we of mirth.

Each staring into the eyes of the other,
We exchanged glances mute;
Your smiles were lovely and your dimples lovelier still,
So I thought you were, really, cute.

The summer-hut didn’t see my love growing,
Neither, I’m sure, did the Mango tree;
But you did see and you did know of my heart’s love,
So from doubt, I found my heart, so perfectly free.

The temperature fell, and the wind grew steadily cold,
Still, I felt so comfortably warm;
Against the heat of love, the worsening chill was no match,
As (my) love found its way home!