A Friendship Quilt Poem by Savita Tyagi

Struggling to survive in a foreign land
I met an old lady, working on a small piece of quilt
"Lovely", I remarked
Proudly she showed me nine more pieces made by her friends
To complete the mosaic of her quilt
Nuance of her wrinkled face were filled with cherished memories of a lifetime
"Do you have friends? " She asked after a pause
A quilt needle pierced through my heart
"No, " I said quietly, " All were left behind."
That night in my cold empty room
Tears rolling from my eyes
I longed for the placid familiarity of my homeland
For the warmth of a friendship quilt
At midnight moon came out smiling from the clouds
In its pellucid light from window pane
A checkered pattern emerged on the wall
The flat white squares on the wall
Were dappled with the leaves and tree branches hanging in the sash
Silhouette of a perfect quilt breathing life in still room-
Made me smile through my tears
I opened the window
Standing in the dark room, listening to the quaint causerie
Of stars and moon, of wind and leaves
I watched the ebullition of benevolence from Nature
Sweeping through my backyard
Clairvoyance?
For a sylph whispered from the woods
"You are not alone"!