Some Words For Regret Poem by Arvind Srivastava

We had to be for everyone
And join everyone

We had to extend our hands to save the sun

From setting

And stop darkness from covering at least half the hemisphere

We had to talk to the leaves

And collect lots of pollen for the butterflies

We had to save water for the coconuts
And fire for the stove

We had to dress the bare mountains

In the clothes of trees

And save the chirping of the birds

We had to live like the seeds in the pomegranate

As the color in the mehndi

And as the juice in the sugarcane

We had to live in the memories of people

Like the days of gossip

And run like blood

In everyone's pulse

But it's a pity that we couldn't do

What we wanted to do.

©Arvind Srivastava,
India