Amitabh Mitra writes and paints

Gwalior, Living, Loving, Living

1

where did we go the last time
the train stopped

what happened then
a brigand of runaway clouds
talked to us

did we ever reach home
home is the unknown
we always stayed

and the sounds outside....
a train of simmering thoughts just
screamed past

Who broke  a violet sky
Who upturned your garhi *
Who dropped
elderly secrets
on your palm
who asked you a question

where are we going now...
Who would answer the kisses
Who would wrap the wind in your eyes
Who would love you even more

* Garhi is a small fort with a small palace. Each of these Indian royal families in Northern, Central and Western India has such Garhis

2

today
this evening has come back
in its finery
streets coil back in languor
i smell an aroma
like distant footsteps
lying on a divan
behind curtains
hiding shadows of
once
small talk
once
tiny kisses
i wait
i wait.

3

let me go
i had told you then
your smile unleashed a sea
in the ravines
palaces were swept off
to a distant sky
and a painted afternoon burnt the fort
for ever
yes, we must all leave, you concluded
the reign has finally ended
to a long summer that had once brought us together
birds that had flown off somewhere
our kisses stayed only with hurts
breathing against ageless stones
and a rainbow that climbed an arid bastion
leaped to escape a once promised
day.

Art - The Fort, Gwalior, India
Acrylic on Paper by Amitabh Mitra