*river Hooghly* Poem by Reshma Ramesh

She hooked her fingers in his like pegs to the clothes line
‘’Roller coaster? ’’ she asked. He shook his head
She looked disappointed
He relieved.
Have I ever told you that u remind me
Of a river called Hooghly? he asked
She smiled
Your hair like my grandmother’s fan
Lulling me to sleep
Your eyes like the brown marbles
That I hid in my pocket
Your long legs like the poems I wrote
In the candle light
Your blushing cheeks like my nephew's feet
That stuck out of the joolah
Your soft hands like my mother’s stories
Soothing me
That bronze skin like the familiar path on the
Sultry afternoons I used to walk back from school
Hungry
Your breasts like my soft bed where I found
Comfort every night
Your laughter like the kites in the September sky
And your tears like my father’s silence.
He sighed
And I want to kiss you
When the sun sets in the river Hooghly’