Nupur Chaturvedi

Drop

For a long time I watched it
Stuck tenuously and tenaciously
To the tip of a leaf
A perfectly formed drop of moisture
And till I watched, it remained
Unaware of the certain fall any instant
I, on the other hand, was aware
I knew this was just time standing still
I knew the fall was imminent
But for now, it seemed to stretch to eternity
A moment suspended, a thought suspended
Hope suspended, beauty suspended
Life itself suspended
Then I turned away
And when I turned back, the drop had fallen
Splat on the floor
The drop was gone,
My moment snatched
Because I had looked away for a second.

Forget

I could forget
The language we created
Words only we could understand
Meanings that only we could derive.
I could forget
The places we marked as ours
Roads that only we knew the way through
Monuments that we erected and we visited from time to time.
I could forget
The rivers we bathed in
The oceans where the waves rose and ebbed for us
Boats we made to survive whirpools and tsunamis.
I really could forget all those juvenile attempts
At making our love immortal, unique.
It isn’t, ask the hundred million others who built the same dreams.
What I can’t forget is you, me, us. Can you?

Who am I

Who am I but the last leaf
In a four-leaf clover
Unaware of the power
I could yield, if only I knew.

Who am I but the vacant house
About to be occupied
Unaware of the dreams
That I am about to fulfil.

Who am I but the rim of a cup
On the verge of brimming
Unaware conduit of succour
For the waiting lips.

Who am I
If not possibilities
If not almost there
If not for that one gentle push
If not perfection minus one?

I am all that and more.