Footprints left upon the shore

The ceaseless riddles of eternal questions

Unfold—slowly, one by one.

 

At times, time itself comes to rest

In the mirror’s unblinking gaze;

For a brief instant,

The question stands—quietly—

Shaped like an answer.

 

However carefully it is held,

It still slips away;

Yet the mind remains

Forever fastened to it.

 

Behind every smile

A familiar hush endures—

Even old sorrow now

Feels gently known.

 

Memories lift their silken canopies,

And the mind lies down

Upon their warm, velvet stillness.

 

They speak without words,

These memories,

Settling softly

Into the inward chambers of the heart.

 

The self I once was

And the self I am today

Stand far apart in form and time;

Our inner worlds differ—

Yet we remain, unmistakably, one.

 

Though much has altered

In the long passage of years,

Somewhere within

That same childhood is carefully saved.

 

Even now, a fragrance, an evening,

Carries me backwards—

Without warning.

 

Footprints left upon the shore

Remain behind;

I move forward,

Leaving the wet sand to itself.

 

And without quite realizing when,

Standing fully in the present,

I still reach back—

And quietly take the past by the hand.

 

Saturday, 17/1/26 ,10:30 PM

Ajay Sardesai (Megh)