Poetry 2017 Shortlist R G Kaimal

Springtime

A gentle breeze blew into the room.
It ruffled the leaves and the
flowers in the garden;
her hair, as well.
She smiled, reminded of
her father’s fond gesture.
The breeze strolled through her house
toying with the curtains.
It turned the fans the other way.
The flowers in the vases danced like
those in the garden.
Then, a woodpecker began to call
punctuating the silence
with exclamation marks.
She walked to the window.
A smile adorned her face.
She located the bird
perched in the tree outside.
It was close enough for her
to see the graceful movement of its head
in time to its call.
She settled with some tea on the balcony.
In the distance
there were green fields massaging
her eyes.
Beyond the fields
there was the beginning of
a forest – a line of tall trees
that seemed like sentinels
guarding a secret beyond.
She did not want to know the secret.
She felt that, sometimes,
the unknown was the
cheese on the pizza.
It was Springtime out
in the world,
in her garden,
in her home and
in her heart as well.