•    
i've
   witness-
   ed the others
   fall over several
sets•leaving you alone
shivering on a spindly twig
•the winds of autumn had whis-
pered their threats...•to sweep you
off your perch into the world so big
•the season had almost gone to make
way for another•answering the sum-
mons of winter's call•had anticipated
the coming of your departure•...i had  
sworn to myself to catch you as you'd  
fall•for a brief moment, i had turned  
away•to tend to commitments that  
came with dawn...•i returned to  
stay and wait another day...•  
but the wind had come  
while i was
g
o
n  
e•    
.

Ages ago, story of a girl
Dejected for what she looked
Thinking just fair and beautiful
Had rights to glory booked

Did not realize that beauty
Lies in the eyes of beholder
Always self deprecated
Life felt like a boulder

A breakthrough insight
Blind to the imminent change
Discerned beauty is not just looks
It's in wielding ones skill range

Dawn of this realization
Broke her sealed senses
Now she is her own favorite
Exploring life beyond fences

Bharti