The clouds could never give back,
What they got from the ocean.
What you deserved was what I restrained.
My submission was complete,
Then you vanished; taking my faith with you.
Neither in the kaleidoscope which you loved,
Nor in the echo of your laughter,
Not even in the fragrant moist air of Gomati
Which I inhaled in every dream-
I could find you.

I expected you after every squeak of the door
After every autumn – which came frequently!
My face in the mirror was painted with your breath
Within the eyelids you always lived.
Like unfulfilled desire you sparkled in the mirage of my mind
My soul was an encampment of your yearnings.
Your tinkling bangles descended the stairs towards me,
Made music in my dreams.
The sound of your anklet remains perched on my shoulder
Melting into my ears, repetitively, rhythmically.

The volcano has erupted through the eyes
Vulnerability
Remorse
Despair
The rain has cleared the haze.

Believe me that eye is still there, its gaze fixed on you
The inauspicious bitch no longer barks in my dreams
The lizards no longer dance on my spine
If I could melt into ink and inscribe on the sky
What you always wanted to read.

Now when I open the door
You enter my arms
Like aroma
Like epistle
Like spring
Like you!!!

Pressed together the twin hands
Will produce all over again
The signs of success
Over the desolate terrain.