BY SHIVA SHARMA AKALWADI

Just yesterday 
I creased out the ridiculous meanderings 
Of my life 
And today 
I don’t feel so jaunty and bold 
Age has already caught up with me 
I feel the toothache moment of my wisdom 
Is finally here 
Otherwise how else 
Am I still and breathing?
I walk slow 
Not ever looking at the number of kilometers 
My feet could cover in a day 
Just how much they could rest 
Not how much I am burning 
But how much how I am creating 
Spaces in absence 
And conversations 
That smell only of lilies and marigold 
I have also started dreaming again 
With eyes so wide 
They could consume an entire rainbow in them 
And most nights when I sleep 
In the company of my bones 
I hear my beating heart 
Warming my toes 
my scars 
I still feel darkness 
Sometimes, the pettiness of the world 
Rattles my slow pace 
In times like these 
I close my eyes 
Looking at all the magic
That my skin can feel 
But my eyes can’t see.