THE OUTPOUR

-         Neelam Saxena (India)

 

It doesn’t drizzle here in Mumbai,

It pours;

Unlike Pune where I last stayed.

 

The drizzle in Pune

Was a soother, it made my mind calm;

Whereas this heaviness here is an outpour

Of my sentiments.

Am I and the rain connected?

Do we share a bond?

 

I loved getting drenched in the first rains,

But here, I haven’t known when it rained first!

I am blissfully unaware of everything

Since I am here.

 

Has some part of me fallen somewhere?

Or is it just the present circumstances

That’s making me so murky?

 

I am trying to collect

Those broken pieces of light

That glowed in my soul till a few months back;

However, they, like shards,

Pierce me, blood oozes out.

 

Oh poetry! Cuddle me, hug me, kiss me!

In your gentle arms,

Maybe, I shall finally find my solace!

 

The only other person

Who could’ve given me this solace,

My mom, lies on the bed, hardly awake!

****