Recluse…

Savouring the charms of the fading city lights

I create an illusion of calligraphy of quietude,

Where the desolate trees open a lane to

A sole window, escaping into the dream

Of journeys, silently…!

The neglect of the trails of everyday world

Zooms past the roar of the metallic sounds

Like sea waves crashing on the rock stones.

Whilst a banyan tree quietly lowers its branches

Providing temporary shade to the passer by,

As the island of vastness empties its tranquility

Of calmness and senses alike!

Few mango sellers greet the crowd in the market nearby

Each with a new bargain, each with his own delivery!

A random traveller slowly notices, invades and moves ahead;

And piles of newspapers lie across the games of cards, where

Oldies join their folks over politics and cardamom tea.

Inside the corridors of the giant trees and tombstones with few

Gentle words, the wondering squirrels slink away to chosen corners

As Earth welcomes the slowly fastening drizzling droplets, while

The choking red bricks lie in bulk bathing in the rain.

From near the garden, the soothing fragrance of jasmine

Grows strong with stings of the southern bees; and

Many watch the ecstasy of children on the waterlogged streets…

The needle on the clock strike the noon chords,

Deconstructing individuals from the makeshift of

The vast emptiness, to a flat world, again!

I feel trapped…!

                Rajdeep Pathak