Swings of a rhapsodic mind

The burnt ashes of warm feelings Drown in a timeless slumber I trudge forward, A heavy heart pulls back I hush it down, I won't let it scream "One step at a time", I hear my mind order And I plunge not asking why. Someday, I shall make it home I assure my indignant soul.

The burnt smell of jaggery over coconut savoury, The hearth sending forth the aroma of pithas, The sweet sour odour of masor tenga. Jetuka dyed fair wrists of gabhorus Dancing to the beats of dhuls and pepas. The frail crisp sound of muga mekhelas swirling Each time they bring home guests. The sight of kopous in tamul gos. Of brighter days and lesser gloom The  onset of Assamese new year. Of feasts and blessings and endless laughter Welcome home, it's bihu in my part of the world .

I wish they had warned me: Of what it takes to live And leave and yet live. A thousand paradoxes, a hundred sighs of lament All down the throat camouflaged by a smile. A hushed tear here, a defeaning wail there. A sense of foreboding, a fear of the known, Of love decaying into musty diary pages Of dried roses and fresh wounds. Of little victories and greater losses I wish I knew it all