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RAGHAV BAL MARDHEKAR
Poems
Jan 2021
THE 25th HOUR
Twisted paths lined the woods
Where I once used to walk
There I'd watch people gather
Of an eve just to talk
And sense just the rhythm
Of the road moving on
Listening to the silences
From Twilight to Dawn
In the cradle of the night
I'd hear it resound
The song of the crickets
Rising high from the ground
Past the woods one could see
From some distances away
The homes of the people
Who chose there to stay.
At the first sight of dusk
The lights from the homes
Would glow in the woods
Like the lanterns of gnomes
In the midst of the woods
They'd cleared a little space
Laid the modest trappings
For a small eating place
On a simple wooden door
There hung a small gourd
With a welcoming lamp
On a hand painted board
Four walls made of stone
In the shade of a tree
And windows so tall
From without you could see
Young couples who came
To that place not to eat
Unshackling their cares
From the day to retreat
The fare, it was modest
And nothing was dear
You spent longish hours
Mulling over a beer.
I remember those times
When my pockets were bare
And all I could do
Was to try not to stare
At faces so solemn
Yet somewhat alight
With knowing anticipation
Of the treat of the night
I remember on occasion
When I was still small
Nose and face pressed
To the window in the wall
On feet lightly poised
From the owner to flee
Tasting in my mind
The food I could see.
The tastes they were real
I recall till today
Of the modest eating house
When he shooe'd me away
The woods are still there
And so is the road
Though battered by age
There hangs still the board
Dimm'd along with old time
The owner and the lamp
Still herald a welcome
From the cold and the damp
With the gift of my sire
I stand somewhat tall
But I still press my nose
To the window in the wall.
I see the white vest
Now quite faded with age
Of the owner in the corner
Looking solemn and sage
My pockets aren't bare
But I stand still a while
Till he shoo'es me away
Though now with a smile
I return to that place
Travelling from afar
Again and Again
On the twenty fifth hour
I know it will happen
One day stripp'd of grace
Those woods will be gone
And so will that place
In its stead there will be
A place stark and clear
No songs of the crickets
For young couples to hear.
Silence mourns alone
That idyllic retreat
Lamenting man’s passion
Nature’s joys to defeat
I'd know then to part,
Like a man from his lover,
Leaving twenty fifth hours
For others to discover.
Written by
RAGHAV BAL MARDHEKAR
70/M/INDIA
(70/M/INDIA)
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