Yes, I live

Do you remember the first time your paper kite
rose in the air, spiraled, went down once, then up?
I remember

how I watched and cheered from my terrace while you
strove to hold your spool and fly it from yours.
I remember

how your mother came running when we shouted with glee.
I remember the proud gleam, her eyes.
I remember

many more things; days, faces, neighbours.
That time is gone, long gone are you, and they.
I pass

through my days and nights mostly in a world
where you, and they don’t belong. Yet
I think

(when I have time to think) of those times for time
is a place where I go and live once more the past.
Yes, I live.

Rajnish Mishra is a poet, writer, translator and blogger born and brought up in Varanasi, India and now in exile from his city. His work originates at the point of intersection between his psyche and his city. He edits PPP Ezine. Read other articles by Rajnish.