Poetry 2017, Thirdprize, Swatilekha Roy

Obscure


These places you don’t bother to remember,
They miss your indifference.
The stand where you were waiting eagerly for the cab,
And the plot for your bestseller popped up.
The coffee-shop where you met your second love,
And never returned when it didn’t work.
The stall where you bought your first canvas,
And bartered for the showy one, near your apartment.
The day your mind wandered astray from the route, into the woods-
And your phone GPS brought you back to senses.
The park you went with Mum, young enough to be in the pram,
And old enough to be scared when her cardiac arrest came.
The book with shredding covers and unappetizing font;
Which you left there, rotting in the drawer you never open.
Places that miss your sighs and uncertain footsteps-
On their sands of time.