The lonesome hours
Clung on the hanging clock /
Pinned to the wall
Creeps silently with curious gaze
At the inmates glued to the chair
The creaking cries of the cricket outside
Ticks the hours away
Nearby the hammerings
Break the silence of the day;
The sturdy wind
Rustles rudely through the trees
While they cling together to the branches
To hold and sway
The dripping rain
Hustles the birds into their grassy nests
As I gaze at the hour ticking away
Into the gloom of the day
~Shobha Diwakar
Jabalpur, India