Heart And Mind

By Adithi Banerjee Tarafdar

It was never my town,

Was it ever?

The lanes, the bylanes,

The markets, the shops,

The colonies, the clubs,

Everybody that knew the other.

Was it ever mine?

The sounds, the smell,

The change of season,

The kids going to school

By trucks.

Were they ever mine?

Yet, they seem to have

Invaded a lot of space

Within my heart.

It cries out sometimes

Wishes to go back.

Relive each moment

Smell the air

Listen to the temple bells tolling

Loud speakers blaring

Latest Hindi tracks

At top volume.

The ladies knitting sweaters

Sitting in the front yard

Knitting and gossiping

Sharing recipes too.

My heart years

For this and more.

But my mind somehow

Is the more logical one

It knows

What can be and can’t.

So it soothes

And pacifies my heart

Like a lover does.

My heart somehow

Denies the reality yet relents

Listens to my mind

Like a partner does.

Moves ahead erasing

The imprint of memories

Of a place which once

Was mine.

By Adithi Banerjee Tarafdar