I smiled my way,
Through a sea of perspiring faces.
Some known,
Most unknown.
The invitation had come,
Two weeks earlier,
And here I was-
At the house warming ceremony,
Of someone I vaguely knew.
The milk boiled over,
At an auspicious moment,
Under the watchful eye of the priest;
Amidst the hearty talk,
Of the crowded women,
I could smell the fresh paint,
The joss sticks, the jasmine-
And the overpowering fragrance,
Of life.