Before You Take Me to Her Lane!

  --These are the last emotions of a soldier for his beautiful lover. Unfortunately, their love could never be culminated.

                                                                    Flowers of Palash (Butea monosperma)

wait!

before you take me

to her lane

tell me if she still stands

for me in the balcony

and just pretends

to clean that windowpane

if her long thick braid

still touches her knees

and its color still reminds

of the mahogany 

if the coils of her curly hair

still kiss her virgin cheeks

and, into her cleavage, the morning dew

still quietly sneaks

if she still eagerly waits

for me at the threshold 

for it’s me whom her spry eyes

want to behold

if the wind still notoriously

blows up her gown

and she bashfully holds the frills

and sits on ground

if the royal poinciana

still blossoms in its full bloom

and fills the emptiness of her terrace

and cuts the gloom

if the butea still flowers

in abundance in her courtyard

and borrows hues from

her divine countenance

if the nights are still so moonlit

and starry in her alley

and the fragrance of night blooming jasmine

still fills that valley

—————

wait!

before you take me

to her lane

condole with her

that i failed her faith

and now i sleep

under the wreath

that the flesh and blood

has altered into a floating soul

which she can no longer

touch or behold

that she was in my

last blood, breath, and blink

with all her innocence

beauty and fragrance 

that now our worlds

are poles apart

and it takes eternity for one 

to travel that far

but i wish that

she finds me in someone else

to always be happy with,

forget me, and have no regrets

may her purity and virtues

remain pristine forever

‘cause those are the things

for which i always adored her