Departure Lines Poem by Leslie Xavier

The north-eastern star DJ,
flew in with the setting sun.
Enter seasonal night parties,
Kochi shimmers in the spray.

Romantics we all; out in open,
drenched, quenched after play.
But tonight is for moist sighs,
the Queen's crying, not letting me go.

Not now ma lady love,
save the drops I'm still your man.
Will be back through blaze n haze,
the promise; I won't sleep around.

Down the outbound left-hand curve,
time; a Titan shows his might.
On a floating carpet in warped time,
I leave behind the best men two.

Twin rocks, their reflections internal,
wave during the slow-mo drift.
Smaller, yet smaller, and a canopy;
the platform's meaningless; empty!

The train's full, le travellers,
my heart's dull, le solitude.

(On Leaving Kochi by train from platform No 1 at Ernakulam Town Station. It was raining heavily and I was drenched when I reached the station at 9.30 in the night. The North Eastern Monsoon, the season of night rains, had arrived in Kerala two days back you see.)