Gomathi Mohan
Woke up to a day full of baggage,
Tying up loose ends, final day of college.
Silver lining was meeting Aman,
Never met a more interesting someone.
One reason to smile bright,
Just a look at his cheerful sight.
It was nearing an year since we met last summer.
Initial days, our teaming proved a bummer.
Wary of each other and biased at first,
Thrown together at the leader's behest.
Had no other choice,
But to maintain our poise.
Made do with our bits of input,
To save our project going kaput.
Quite a difficult nut to crack,
Many a talk over buns and brack.
He proved difficult and a bit rude,
Always lost and in a foul mood.
Easily put off and sourly like lemon,
Nothing in him suggested the name he carried, Aman.
Doubtful and fretful, with many a question,
Diffcult and trying to hold his attention.
Lot of patience to break the ice,
Talks on cricket over tea, did suffice.
By now knew some of his likes,
His life goals alongwith his obsession for bikes.
Many facets and some more of his powers,
Got revealed daily, in all those few hours.
Looking forward to meet him,
this one last time,
Preserve our friendship
in our minds, sublime.
Had chosen his gift with much caution,
Wrapped it up with lots of emotion.
The day pulled on, seemed never ending,
Luckily finished off my work, pending.
I raced down to the library,
Right next to the refectory.
He was waiting with his effervescent smile,
Dressed up in checks, his usual style.
Blowing hair and hazy eyes,
Realised the pull of our college ties.
Handing the gift, I sat down besides,
Hesitantly he took and opened the insides.
Shyly he caressed the book with much fond,
'Tigers For Dinner' by Ruskin Bond.
An illustrated book, easy to read.
"Thaanku Didi" he said, mighty pleased.
Yes he had learnt to read English,
A daunting task for both of us to accomplish.
Bright and curious a little over seven,
That was for you, my dear friend Aman.
Working with him was quite a challenge full of fun,
Under the Programme - Each One Teach One.
“Aman” is certainly an enjoyable read. The imagery and flow of thought blend smoothly in the rhyme and scope of detail. Keep writing!