It’s been just a few hours
Since you left.
As my feet drag me through the door,
The smell of unfinished noodles
Waft out of the dining room
And hit me like a jolt.
I can see the shining handle of the fork,
Peeping out of the barrage of dried-up spaghetti.
You ate so little, I didn’t know.
Why didn’t I even notice?
As the hours tickle away sluggishly,
I am being haunted
By your thoughts.
You were unusually quiet,
Unlike your past self.
Life has not been very generous.
How much I wanted you
To be by my side
When harsh tides of fate
Tore me apart.
Few hours ago,
You were here, by my side
Yet you belonged to a distant world,
Way beyond my reach.
The sun has set noiselessly
Behind the lilac clouds.
With two cups of tea,
I enter your room
Only to stop at the entrance
And stare at your pillows and blanket,
Lying muddled on the bed.
Why do I keep forgetting
That it’s been several hours
Since you went away?
Your wardrobe,
Which was piled up messily till yesterday,
Wears an abandoned look now
Except for a few odd clothes,
And your favourite red kurti
That you left behind.
I keep the kurti carefully
At a secluded corner of my cupboard
And give the rest for wash.
It’s going to be a long time
Before we will be together again.
Till then, I hope
My soul can repress my woes within itself
Because for now,
I have no one to accompany me
Except solitude.
Sohini Sarkar 