Orchard Poem by Shakira Nandini

it was as if you were standing before a fence
and beyond the curved slats, woven with
blossoms and leaves, over there, in the orchard,
a group of children played

barefoot, ragged, grubby

your heart
shudders, half-wild: those children
racing around, that orchard, longed for

you discover suddenly, within yourself, how badly
you'd play forgetting yourself, neither eating, nor sleeping

you start - someone calls your name
beckons you—come! You look around—do they really
want me?

You look around - do they really that wall, sometimes stone, tall, thick
sometimes transparent, or glass, don't I
build it myself?

I hear
clanging coming closer, a drum
and from around the corner a group of well-wishers wind
their voices growing louder, clearer

my poor
heart