A beauteous evening it was

The setting sun painted

The earth and sky with unbelievable hues

Stunned by the awesome panoramic view

And before it was cloaked by darkness

The lady galloped on her horse

Through the maze of the forest

Fringed with beautiful tall slim trees

The swaying verdant green tress

Enhanced their elegance

Animals big and small scared by the horse’s mad dash

Stood mutely glued to the ground

Watching with wide open eyes flooded with fear

They waited with their ears stretched to their utmost

Before scampering off to their hide outs

Up the trees, a hole in the ground, behind the bushes

Just anywhere far away from that horrifying thundering sound

Was all that mattered

A sudden bedlam arose as the birds took to their wings

Screaming and screeching

The sky was soon covered with beautiful silhouetted patterns

The joyous serene forest was thrown into chaos

The lady stalled her horse under the lush foliage

Shocked and saddened for marring the tranquility around

Soon everything appeared normal

The forest residents crawled out alert and wary

Carefully treading with parched throats towards the pool of water

The lady had missed it but was now struck dumb

By it’s shimmering water that had captured

The forest’s grandeur in it.

It was like watching a live show with varied creatures and

Vegetation performing a unique dance in the cool silvery water

Darkness was taking over the day but

Ruddy golden clouds still hovered in the sky

With motley of birds silently moving towards their cozy nests

In breathtaking patterns

Unhappily the awestruck lady tore herself from this grand feast

Cantering home, a mere figure she appeared

Drowned in Nature’s untouched, overwhelming beauty!

                                                                                      ~By Anuradha. S. Bannore

                                                                                    Vadodara, India