A Notebook And Its Cover Poem by Mamta Agarwal

I sat down with resolve,
Crossed legged on the wooden bench,
Trying to wipe the frown
And stretch my spine.
Watch my breath
Pray for strength
And peace and calm, a spiritual balm.

I smiled as the cool breeze
Teased my cheeks
And flirted with my carelessly
Tied thick mane.
Told my mind, now
You be quiet;
This is me time.

My glance rested
On the notebook,
That goes with me everywhere.
It’s my secret treasure
And I just jot down
My thoughts at leisure.

It is covered with
A blue cloth;
And what… perhaps
I noticed for the first time,
A hand embroidered tortoise,
In orange and green in chain stitch.
Good heavens, I muttered
To myself, isn’t he the guy
Who won the race,
Slow and steady
Putting that smug, sly
and dandy
Hare to shame,
without much fanfare.

Thoughtfully, I muttered aloud
Who ever said don’t go by
A book’s cover?
An open mind can
Discover anything
Even if
In small measures;
Why you don’t need scriptures;
Even a hand crafted picture
Can turn out to be a guide
And a seer.