Of Love And Love, I And Ii Poem by Kishore Asthana

OF LOVE AND LOVE

I.
Remove this veil of pretend 'tween us
Let you be you and me, me
Its a long time since we've been us
In a quiet moment, disarmed, said he

Naked in body, confused, confounded
She thought he does mean well
And my fears are perhaps unfounded
She mused I want time to dwell

On what we loved or said we do
In each other, all this time
What is false and what is true
Is ignorance such a crime

What can we dropp when we may not know
What it is we hold between us
Perhaps not one veil but many more
Hide the secret, inner, unseen us

Are you an angel or satyr
Behind this handsome self, this pose
I know who you are when afire
I know who you are in repose


But do I know when danger threatens
When the chips are down, harm is near
If you will act or curse the heavens
Do you yourself know it my dear

When loves conflict as they will
Will you always put mine first
Or having drunk of your fill
You will let mine die of thirst

She thought all this, then, with a gentle smile
'I know not what is 'pretend' in love
I do what comes without plan or guile
All these seem to end in love'

He said, 'So true, I feel the same
You bring out the best in me'
And they continued with their game
She knew some things just cannot be

OF LOVE AND LOVE

II.
'Let us walk hand in hand', said he
Till death do us part
Here's a hug and a kiss from me
To give us an auspicious start'

She laughed and then hugged him tight
No more words were needed
But she lay awake in the night
As he slept on unheeding, unheeded

Perhaps you know not poor dear
What it is to walk hand in hand
For you it means just we are near
A stroll in lovers' land

Perhaps some words which sound nice
And sweet and gentle and kind
Have you thought if the price
Is one your love will mind

If you were to hear this now
You'll say I don't understand
Its no big deal anyhow
Just to walk, hand in hand

Hand in hand, yes she mused
Why does it sound to me so hollow
What'd you do if I refused
For you to lead and me to follow

You hold my hand and you are free
But I can't push or pull
Will you ever look back and see
We're not just cow and bull

We'll dream together till the end
Your dreams will be my dreams, true
But it'll surprise you, my doting friend
To know I have my own dreams too

Are you so strong that I could
Hold your hand and guide you on
Or you'd buckle under your manhood
With your pride tattered and torn

A man loves for himself
a woman despite herself
It has always been true,
perhaps always will be
One armed with wits the other with power and pelf
Since we crawled out of the sea

She could not sleep for quite a while
Then whispered, lets walk hand in hand
Side by side, and death will smile
As we walk in fairyland