By Ananya P Kumar
The 12-hour journey to my hometown
The lush green fields illuminated
as the morning sun rises.
Him standing on the platform, warm as ever,
Welcoming us home.
Home where love was
Home where everyone was.
The ice cream, he never got
The chocolates, he craved
The love and care, he yearned for
He made sure I was never short of it.
His laugh spoke volumes of what he went through.
His eyes shine bright with mischief.
His hands were never reluctant to reach out to me.
His toothless smile always made me laugh.
Grayish white tufts of hair
Styled in the very same way it's always been.
These were the memories of my childhood.
The gold-rimmed glasses that sat on his nose,
The cycle he drove to work every day,
The checked shirt he always wore,
These were the memories of my childhood.
My favorite treat wrapped in a bag
The very one I longed for.
The triumphant smile he wears,
When he didoes me.
The proud smile he wears,
When I fulfill my dreams
The sad smile he wears
When I shed tears.
The thin line of tears that line his eyes,
As he held my brother for the first time
Down by the well,
As the scent of dying embers waft by,
The roselle danced in the Wind.
He and I, we, sat by the steps that lead into the house
Admiring how the moon shone
Through the plantain tree batch.
Those days are long gone now,
But it has always been and always will be
My safe- place and I,
My role model and I,
My grandfather and I.