Conversation

a poem by Ravinder Malhotra

My heart spoke to me one day
And asked me where she were
“Who” I asked “you allude to”
He said “The one you so revere”

I said “She had to go
She promised she’ll be back”
“Your voice is weak” he wryly said
“And courage it does lack”

“Oh” I said “she should be here
She’s out for a while”
“I am not a fool” he said
“I’ve hardly seen you smile”

“It’s only been sometime” I said
He said “It’s now been years
I wish you look at your eyes
Where from come those tears”

“I looked up to the skies” I said
“And caught the sun’s glare”
“It’s been all overcast” He said
“I see the sun nowhere”

“Look” I said “It’s mean of you”
“The way you treat”
“Well” he said “I feel the pain
How rapidly do I beat”

“They are fickle” he advised
“And cannot take a stand
Like the wind they come and go
You must understand”

“And should you ever trust the waves?
How and where they will
For else’s fancy rise or fall
But never they be still”

“No” I said “I know she cares
My faith in her does rest
I have her missives to convey
She said she’d try her best

Asking me to wait for her
So earnestly did she seek
A solemn promise that could I
Honestly too would keep

“How can I, Oh heart my dear
Bewail her it’s not fair
A woman torn between her love
And her family over there”

“Aren’t there others” I do ask
“Then why for her you long”
“Cause she is beauty” I replied
“And love in its purest form”