I Met A Girl, Maa.

By Swastik Shekhar Sarkar

I met a girl, Maa,

She reminds me of you.

When she asks me if I'm okay,

Just at the wrong time,

It rings a bell or two.

In a world too quick to judge,

With patience,

She tries to understand me.

(She) Embraces me tight,

When my own existence

Feels burdensome to me.

With your departure, Maa,

The shell of a man,

Was all that was left of me,

I knew deep in my consciousness;

Until she asked me to rest

my head on her lap,

And the boy in me

wept in your reminiscence.

I see that shade long forgotten (in me)

once again, weave a tapestry of dreams;

For though you may have departed, Maa,

I believe she can preserve that boy in me.

By Swastik Shekhar Sarkar