The Sentinel of Time

Today, I saw you in side a car
You look just like
The last time
When I saw you
In India, in a small village
In a city, in a town
Sitting under a big tree
Almost like it
Serene, calm and reflective
What you have seen
What you went thru
Did you make any sense to you?
Tell me
My dear unknown grand grand ma.

Like the tree
You cherished the growth
The fun of being a butterfly
Running wild
Until you left
Mom’s womb
To a strange place
To a stranger’s place
To build a life
Of your own,

Husband came
Babies came
Grandkids came
Monsoon came
Drought came
Festivals came
Cholera came
In the tear of your eyes
With your nimble fingers
You carved the life
You carved the love
For the babies
For the cats,
For the cows
Even for the snakes
Which sought refuge
In your house
In monsoon days.

What you see
What you wanted to see
I don’t know
But a sentinel of time
I wonder
I wonder
About you
Just like
I wonder about me.

((*.*))

Babru
July 2001