The Photograph

There he stood,

With a smile on his face,

Looking at the camera,

With utmost grace,

The sun lit up his wheatish skin,

His skin,

Splendid, like the shades of a new sunrise,

Beautiful, like his thoughts, his words, his truths and lies.

His dusky hair swept up in a wave,

The tracks of his fingers conspicuous,

Conspicuous were,

The creases of his shirt,

And the crinkles that rose as he smiled with mirth.

His eyes like stars of twilight bright,

And a smile that could light up dark nights.

The photograph carried me,

Back to what we used to be.

The sound of this voice through the phone,

The way his presence started to feel like home.

The way that day,

He smiled at me,

While talking on the phone,

From his balcony,

When I walked past his place.

His stories that would never end,

Teleporting me to the past from the present,

I listened to him like an awestruck child,

Twinkling eyes and a wide smile.

Clinging on to the words he spoke,

While the rest of the world blurred in the background,

Like rising smoke.

Now, as my finger traces the wobbly vein in his right forearm,

I remember,

The triumphant smile,

When he messed up my hair,

While we walked together,

Heading nowhere.

And then, as ineluctable as the day and dawn’s kiss,

I felt his smile crawl on my lips.

Talking all night,

Till sleep did us apart,

Talking about our hopes and dreams,

Baring our souls,

Un-shielding our hearts,

Our fears and strengths,

The ‘forevers’ and ‘till the ends’,

The promises,

They were made to be broken,

And these words,

Which will, perhaps,

Never be spoken,

Time took its toll,

We were torn apart,

Now I’m here reaching out for you,

Take my hand,

Let’s go back to the start.

Because,

In the quiet moments,

When my mind wanders away,

It always finds its way back to you.

And when I look at the sky,

In all its shades of blue,

The face my mind conjures up,

Is you.

And as the darkness of the night,

Engulfs the fading daylight,

It still,

Finds its way back to you.

And then,

Faces sprint past,

And I’m somewhere new,

Standing at the edge of infinity,

Right next to you.

And in that moment,

With our hands entwined,

All your dreams,

Became mine.