#lockdownstories
Once I had set foot on your fallen kingdom —
I came with summer and crept into your home.
Like a sparrow lurking behind the window
Or with any mendicant's aimless shadow
Did I seep into the sad hospital room,
Watched your empty city wrecked by wrath of Doom.
That summer, I knew I was not so welcome
As those days when you used to crave for the calm.
You said I thrive on the chaos of your mind
While yourself living in an era gone blind.
I was not thought to be the most desired blessing
But I could hear once again the birds to sing
And not the engine's roar or the taxi horn,
Once again stars shone brighter and a quiet morn,
Without the crowded bazars' endless chatter,
Could savour the soft rain-drops' gentle patter.
That summer when Chauvinism fell apart,
For once you could have embraced me in your heart,
For once could call me a boon rather than bane
Who calmed down a whole society gone insane.
Not just that summer but I was all along
There, left unnoticed and lost in your loud throng,
Like an unsung lullaby of Mankind's flute,
I forever lived in the voice of the mute.
— Tanushree Chakraborty
May 4, 2020
May 4, 2020 at 4:59 PM UTC