62) The Festival of Homecoming

All lights were dimmed around the house,
All except those twinkly starlights,
And the warm glow of that lantern fluttering in the window,
A solitary lamp remained burning,
It's wick flaring up as it neared it's end,
All around is cool, breezy & quiet,
Interrupted occasionally by the chirp of a night worm,
Sometimes a steady conversation flowed,
Intermittently and in whispers,
Small titbits about daily mundane incidents,
Juicy gossips about some people in the know,
Cherished childhood memories refreshed,
Some of them for the umpteenth time,
Some random jokes, some soft laughter,
Some long pauses in between, no awkward ones,
Just some people enjoying the moment,
The vibe and the company of loved ones,
Abruptly a new topic of discussion starts,
And the pattern continues for quite some time.
Eventually sleep overpowers someone,
One by one they retire to their rooms, eyelids drooping,
A solo being stays back in the room,
Soaking in the light, the warmth, the feel,
Then she goes too and the lights go off,
The flame of the lamp flickers one last time & dies down,
A silence engulfs the room, soft & warm,
Having welcomed the festival with open arms,
It was the homecoming of it's people & their bonds,
It was finally the homecoming of a cosy Happy Diwali !

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

67) Time Heals?

Does time really heal as they say? I used to believe that’s true Now I feel that maybe it doesn’t really It may just create a protective layer A mask over the wound and hide it For the time being, from you From the others, So they don’t know you are hurting, And if ever you sit down and think Recall, remember, talk Have a trigger to the past, To that memory of heartbreak, Or of losing someone forever, The mask is off, the wound is exposed, The tears, the pain, the anguish is back, Maybe not in the same intensity as when it was fresh, But its still there, not healed, just hidden, So what does time do really? How do we heal? Do we replace? Ignore? Forget? If only there was an answer to that, To heal completely, Or maybe it’s our heart’s way, To keep the hurt intact, So we do not take any person or moment for granted, Because when they are gone, They create a wound, And time they say heals everything, But they leave a scar, a reminder, Of what you once had, Of what you lost, Forever!
Read more

66) Happy Independence?

Happy Independence Day A wish that feels hollow & empty to me today as a woman! As even today, 77 yrs later, it is a woman who is questioned  No matter how heinous the crime, the victim is at fault Because she has no freedom of clothing, of work, of time, of location, No matter how free the country is, she is restricted If not by her family, then by the society, by her own fear of safety. Today I am lucky Yes lucky - because I've the freedom of life, of work, of speech, of choice And I'm lucky that I get these basic needs which are every person's right  But the freedom from fear - who can grant me that? The curfew & restrictions on me ? I doubt it! Because if they can breach places of love, of work, of worship, They can breach those curfews Because the problem is not me! And when the basic right to life is in jeopardy, the right to happiness is only a dream So if there is no true independence for all And in light of continual horrifying incidents - no happiness as w...
Read more

6) That Little Bird

A little bird on my window sill, chirping its sweet song, So pretty was it that my eyes followed him along, As it hopped and twittered around, I couldn’t take my eyes off him, And when he sang a melody aloud my heart was filled with happiness to the brim.   He was a brown, chubby, tiny little thing, with a sharp, long beak, And he looked at me with his beady black eyes as if willing me to speak, And speak I did, quite involuntarily though, the words just came from my mouth, “Oh! You are such a pretty, adorable little thing!” I impulsively quoth aloud.   The little bird jumped merrily around, pecking into this pot and that, But he looked at me from time to time, like an inquisitive cat, His heart was bubbling with happiness and joy as it flitted up and down, And it made me smile with sheer delight and gently wiped out my frown.   So many hardships I had gone through recently that I had almost given up hope, But now watchi...
Read more