On Springtime's Path Poem by DEEPAK KUMAR PATTANAYAK

I was very young when I met you
May be well past half a century or so
Almost sixty years happily I remember
And honestly I am not hiding the numbers less or more
We started early
In the morn not later than five thirty
The sun was just peeping from her door stately
And looking a little drowsy
Hair disheveled, eyes red
Face flushed and swelled
Looked as if fresh from Eden's garden
Dangling like a large round fleshy watermelon
And body wrapped in muslin
A sleeping beauty I had never seen
Out to see me perhaps in haste
Lest I might be late for the event
It was 7th October
Floating overhead were
Clouds thin and fleecy
With a soft sky
Sometimes blue and sunny
And sometimes rainy
And we were to travel miles
Before I dreamed for her a prince
Highway was as clear as sky
Though there were vehicles on ply
Only a few patches of cloud it seemed
Encircling the avenue, the smog I imagined
Were from automobile engines
Gulping down miles like hungry crocodiles
And trees, flowers, meadows, hills and valleys around were as happy as me
For they were driven by rain, sunshine
And wind mill
And I was by enthusiasm and zeal
By the time we arrived just short of a furlong
Heavily it was raining
Paths slippery
Full to the brim were rivers nearby
And the countdown had begun
Now I saw you in your pleasant home being in cloud nine
And there I tossed yonder those years I lived like a rind
And with tenderness tasted youth on springtime's road by your side
And upon going forward
I wished to see you both as groom and bride
For love, struggle, hope and dream
All are but not for a while and interim
For with them life sustains
Whether age strikes or youth revives
Oh to such days of spring as youthful
I prayed God not to bid farewell