In Search Of You Poem by Nisha Edavanna

When I was a child,
I used to swim and bathe
In Chaliyar with my playmates and Siblings..
We made sand castles,
Sitting around her
Wide banks..
We swam across her
Without fear..
There were no
Unknown depths..
We even caught fish to drop
In our wells..
Many died, a few survived..
We plunged into her
Caressing arms,
Making splashes around us..
She too was our playmate,
Gentle and beautiful,
Flowing gracefully,
Her ripples humming rhythmically..

At times, in monsoon.
She was a bit violent,
Still we were
Not afraid of her...
Through the corridors of
Time, she was running and
Rushing...

Greed of man
Plundered her soil,
Polluted her water,
Blocked her smooth flow.
She was the silent witness,
Of my childhood, teenage, youth, Marital bliss, motherhood and even Widowhood..

When we kept distance from her,
She was coming wildly
In search of me and
My playmates and siblings.
Rushing and roaring aggressively..,
She reached the Lane
Behind my home.
She was leaping
To touch me and my friends.

'If you are not coming to me
I'm coming in search of you'.
Her waves were murmuring silently.. I was speechless..

NISHA EDAVANNA