Dear beloved,
You might be so much surprised
That I call you after love died,
After we had sung our farewell song
And parted on the beach, long
Into the night, that fateful Monday-
You remember how difficult the way
Seemed with the wet sand, and the boulders
Sparse, and the rushing breakers?
Remember the sun dipped faster than
On other days, how the tide ran
Into where we sat, and we looked other
Ways? We sat and saw how another
Couple walked past us- they must have
Wondered why we didn’t save
Our clothes from the water cold-
Or didn’t our hands hold.
You smiled and said goodbye
And for the first time I didn’t sigh.
And so I call you now- no,
Not to cry like always, so
That you could be that nice girl whom
I loved. You just left a hanky in my room-
It’s so dirty it stinks.
-16/3/2001, Calcutta-63