1.
I often walk on lonely trails
sometimes mist fills the jungle
it drifts like a sad song
sometimes it rains
then my only companions
are the silence inside me
and the longing in my heart
for all that could not be ours
when I face the mountains
I look far into the valley
where a house rests quietly
beneath the dhauladhars
it waits for you there
when evening comes
the dying light of the sun
illuminates the snow peaks
like prayer lamps in a window
and I imagine your silhouette
with the breeze gently weaving
sunlight through your hair
in that reverie I watch you from afar
thinking of what might have been
just as I do now, gazing at the forest
burgeoning with our dreams
the glacial pools of water
that once kissed your skin
I have often walked these trails
but none have led me to you
so here I sit, staring at the house
at the mountain peaks at the valley
from where I know you will emerge
with a bagful of dreams
and the sun in your hand
2.
We were together but alone
the distance between us
like the table at our favourite dhaba
where we often stopped
en-route to the mountains
we sat opposite each other
breathing the aromas
of the open kitchen
a wide table between us
paddy fields behind
an old man sitting nearby
began to hum a tune
from the land he had known
and my imagination
took me to places I yearned
to see with you—
those hidden waterfalls
and Himalayan villages
with quaint slate-roofed houses
the colourful prayer flags
the distant moon and stars—
rising spice trails
from the sizzling pans
end my reverie, I smile
as you pluck on khubz tandoor
hot and tender
taking time to savour
the hunter’s moon
dripping through your fingers
*Khubz tandoor – flatbread made in tandoor (clay oven)
Tikuli is a blogger & author from Delhi. Her short stories and poems have appeared in many renowned print and online literary magazines including Cafe Dissensus, The Criterion,The Enchanting Verses Literary Review amongst others. Her short stories have appeared in various anthologies. Her debut poetry book ‘Collection Of Chaos’ was published in 2014 by Leaky Boot Press. She blogs at tikulicious.wordpress.com
