By Dr Maitreyee Joshi
Your dining table forever welcomes
The near and dear ones with open arms
As if they are petals of a flower in full blossom
For it flaunts love over it's sturdy bosom
The dining table has sensed
How well is the salt of emotions balanced
It knows how warm has the soup been
For letting of their guards down, it has seen
The dining table has felt your ache
When too much bitterness, you couldn't take
It knows how sour for each one are the grapes
And what from your grasp so often escapes
It has witnessed your adventures
And how generous are you with the spice
It knows your tolerance and your limits
And your ambitions to reach the heights
The dining table smiles at your food garnished
Your cheer is proclaimed when it's embellished
It questions, what's it that keeps you busy
Counts your family time as you run away
The dining table preserves the tangy tastes
It listens when the laughter resonates
It has felt what glues you to each other
As you spread the toast with soft aromatic butter
The dining table is a witness of the sweetness
As you disperse for your worldly pursuits
For the last course is all that lingers
And the last bit of a content candle flickers.