When next time in Delhi
Let us run away –
Somewhere far off to a place
Where crowds and blaring horns
Does not snuff out our lung power
That your screams at me are dampened by motor cars
And my whispers of plead for a pause on a park bench
On the hot summer day are not echoed by thirsty birds
Searching for a sip of water, desperately.
When next time in Delhi
Let us run away –
Somewhere far off to a place
Where we can grasp the flavors
Of silently burning tandooris,
Away from the Jazzy music of the Malls
Your choice and mine are different
As different as chalk and cheese
But that is variety.
When next time in Delhi
Let us run away-
Somewhere far off to a place
Where stars still appear on night’s screen
And our desperate eyes do not scan the horizons
And the great expanse of the diffused light
For a twinkle of a Star Journeying across the night
When next time in Delhi
Let us run away-
Somewhere Far off to a place
Where the smell of gasoline and diesel
The stink of blocked water channels
Or the fragrance of delicate perfumes
Evaporating from delicate skins
Does not interfere
With our sense of night jasmine
Waving her magic overhead
Lets us wander aimlessly
Into the silent hours.
When next time in Delhi
Let us run away-
Somewhere far off to a place
Where our bodies do not have to seek support
Of each other inside a busy Metro Coach
Trying to balance the overpowering crowd
Spilling on us from everywhere
But where a stretch of space can separate Us
Re-establishing a bond between us
Defining the words I, You and Us.
~Ranjit K. Sahu
Mumbai, India
Good poem