Ballad
of Blue Sky and
Yellow Bower
by
Rumjhum Biswas
That
bower of yellow
flowers lady
Like
grapes in snake
green vines
And
the sky over your
garden, lady
Used
to be so much
bluer than mine
Songs
for the butterfly,
lady, I had
Sung
in my youth without
fear
My
days had pure
colors then lady
Colors
that springtime
had wrung clear
Hark
now to the whispers
of early
Years
lady, and a sun
still so young
Time
so fine then lady,
they were
Finer
than your satin
wedding gown
The
grass was velvet
lady, and fulgent
Were
the waters. Verdant
was the paddy,
And,
mangoes were crisp
and tart.
With
our stone slung
catapults lady
We
shot like furies
at the guava trees
Stirring
the thickets with
such wicked glee
The
scolding parrots
were shocked into
silence
And,
in silence the
birds were forced
to flee
How
we chased those
wild, wind blown
days
We
were like capricious
will o' the wisps
Those
elusive, dream
days flashing
now lady
Like
distant blinding
white sun discs
The
ghost of those
days beckon me
lady,
Now
that I brave the
cold with such
yearning
For
your bright sky
and your bower
lady
My
heart cannot bear
the weight of
this longing
Such
yearning now for
the yellow, for
the blue
Such
longing for the
sweet green and
gold of spring
For
now in unsteady
hands I hold still
butterflies
to
the pale talc
of their colors
I desperately
cling.
©
2008 Rumjhum Biswas
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