Wrapped within self

 

 

I needed some leaves to shelter

When my wings could not carry

The chip in nest to above clouds

With every thunder my fears poured

I kept my shelter ready even in sun

Wrapped to cover my flaws

Or to conceal the surfeit of benevolence

The cover was always ready to veil.

Whenever I exposed my tender nest

The clouds emerged even on a bright noon

My chirp dwindled and died in nest

Eveytime it echoed a thunder from heavens

Only if words remained buried corpses

But they often sprouted into crops

While I remained hidden within furrows

In search of a root to hold deep within

But shrivelled to yield more seeds instead

Wrapped in vicious layers of self

What they identified as a me

I often shed skin to disown my forms

Sometimes I carried my past layers

To wade through the waters from heaven

When I carried my dried up tears

The salt was dissolved to liberate my soul

But when I carried my layers with me

The burden was a marshland to freedom.

 

Delhi

23.19 hrs

2150

13.5.24