"Ähoy" a sudden call, that speaks so much ; looking up I see,
a face familiar for ages,up above the dark, sturdy Palmyra tree,
thirty feet high, amidst the lush canopy of thick green leaves,
his toddy tapper's gear, unchanged for generations, around his waist,
just a breast plate to protect from the rough trunk, while crawling up,
a broad smile, time couldn't wither, on that countenance.
An ancient avatar, he jumps out from a favorite story book,
of childhood, he animated a lot of memories of those times,
walking through the narrow path among trees,a loud "Ähoy"
would unexpectedly greet dad and I, from where the wind reigns,
unaware there is world above, ready to reach us, any time,
cut in to our animated talk on atlas moths with broad wings,
or amazing things, Malabar squirrels that fly from tree to tree.
"Ähoy! Raman!how'z toddy flow today? All fine?"
his voice booming from below, dad would cheer our friend;
more like talking to the wind and trees, pleasantly surreal.
"Ähoy"makes all fall in place, Raman hasn't changed a bit,
time flows only down here, up there it seems standing still,
my little village too has a trap, I suspect, time has no way to escape,
if it makes the river languid, no, Raman seems not to mind!
"Master" the old familiar endearment, "Ẅhat's the matter?
from here, above the clouds, I can see those brooding eyes,
The city, shall I say took all those smiles, you would gift
as a village boy , going to school with your chums, this way"
I know what comes next, fresh toddy served with love as an antidote,
right here under the tree, a brew that brims with memories
of many guilty pleasures of adolescence,can I ever reject?
No worry lines on that gentle face, Raman is ageless, cool,
we sit on a pre historic rock, that extends seating arrangement,
in to container, he made with braided Palmyra leaf,
Raman pours limitless love that for others would look like toddy,
to me this milky liquid, is a magic potion tapped from memories,
of a past that I thought has winged away from me but still here.
I gulp it and get transported to a time, I don't want to forget,
Now the wind, I can hear hums an old haunting tune,familiar
In mild intoxication, we chorus the wind's song on Palmyra leaves.
Toddy--A natural alcoholic sap of some kinds of palms, such as palmyra
