Affinities and Identities

By Preethika Ranganathan

I thought I had affinity with a rock on the road,
And so it adorns my palm.
Then I remember the rock every time I think of affinities,
And so it weaves into my sentimental thoughts.
Then I hope for more affinities – find none
And so I wear it on a delicate gold chain.
Affinities are scarce, and I clutch at my rock.
I remember myself by my rock.

Then one day, frustrated,
I take off the chain and place it sentimentally back on the road.
I sleep a while, wake up,
And take a new leafy path.
You see that one greenish yellow leaf,
I like it.
But it needn't be but a sweet fleeting memory.
Certainly nothing to tie the story.