Let your smile be with me ....

Next time when you decide to depart and go away,

remember to leave your smile with me.

Let your smile drop in for a chat at least. When he would

sit across, bearing a bouquet of queries on his forehead

I will patiently answer, one by one.

He has changed a little since we last met; now

quieter, courteous but irresistibly charming as before.

When I will come home with eyes tired and soar

he would touch me and make me reach the sky.

Embracing me like a pair of dove wings

he will take me in his cocoon, as before.

Sometimes, perched on my windowsill

he would just watch me broodingly,

then again he would be airborne,

playing mischief with my locks.

I will wear him on my hair

when it will rain on my courtyard,

I will seek solace in him

if the scorching sun burns.

He would like to know, as always,

his baritone sprinkled with wonder,

why we resist truth so much!

But for once, I would convince him not to think.

We would together collect twigs and wood of memories,

and dry leaves of an unborn hope, some unwritten verses,

and light a bonfire of love and warmth,

twisting and rolling the taste of its smoke on our tongue.

So, next time, you decide to go away

Please remember to leave your smile behind.