” My seat number was 32,
And I faced him.
He was sitting at 80s
And so was my gaze,
The curls reminded me of the unexplored places.
I never knew the feeling of
Not belonging to the unexpected, before.
I positioned my book in 100 possible ways,
To stay there in the shelter.
And for a minute, we saw each other.
I actually counted time,
With unit being, his blink.
I could see life on the other side of his glasses.
Imagining if I could slip in that gap,
And his eyes could notice me in a similar way.
If, for a second I could drape a part of myself,
In his curls, unapologetically.
I even stood and observed his chest,
To sync my breath,
To spend that few meters for a few minutes,
Together.
And at the next station,
He stood up and walked away.
I could just smile under my mask,
Hope he’d have noticed. “
~ Kartik Atri
India
It was really nice kartik….