LIFE AND LIES #82 | In The Moment

Impervious to words of encouragement

I shouted from the opposite side,

Fearful and indecisive,

To and fro she went,

Looking for a point where the stream

Was narrow enough to jump across;

But there wasn't one.

To get to the other side,

Just like me and everyone else,

She had to walk barefoot

Through the shallow muddy water,

Icy cold and riddled with boulders.

The summit fever

Or some moral conscience,

I don't know what triggered me,

But I got back on my feet

That was still numb from before,

And went back the way I came.

The water didn't affect me this time.

Retracing my footsteps

And words of a poem

I had written long back,

I reached her to find her eyes

Wide open with surprise.

One after another,

I sent her shoes flying across,

Which probably hit someone.

Then without losing a moment,

I took her hand and asked her

To count with me... 1, 2, 3 and go!

The water welcomed me this time,

Sending a flash of inspiration.

And when we reached the other side,

We were welcomed with cheers,

But my mind had already drifted away

To assimilate the words hanging in the air.

***

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***

Dedicated to MJ (not to be confused with Michael Jackson) who I met on Gaumukh Tapovan Trek.

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Life and Lies of M R Maiti

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