Taekwondo Poem by Anurag Goel

We spoke for the second time
Again in the middle of a moving world.
Rain had just begun to fall,
Soft earthy smell of wet soil rising
like the earth itself was breathing.

She was somewhere on the road,
seven years old,
yet carrying the weight on her shoulders
There were honks, there were pause,
Her voice blurred into that endless crowd,
and between it all, her breath was loud.

'I just got back from Taekwondo' she said,
as if it explained the tiredness
hiding in her voice.
I could almost imagine her,
a small bag hanging on her shoulders,
earphones tucked into her ears,
hands gripping her mother tightly
so she wouldn't fall from the vehicle.

It was cold, in the rain, in the wind,
but she couldn't feel any.
As her body was still warm,
She was a fairy like a charm.

Then she asked - simple and direct,
'Why did you want to talk to me? '
And for the first time,
I had no words..

Because how do you explain a feeling you don't understand yet?
How do you tell her, that I don't want this moment to end,
when you don't even know if there will be another.

I thought what I wrote would bring her a smile
But somewhere between my words and her world,
She turned into tears.

I just kept listening to her till she was gone..
The rain grew heavier,
and the rush grew louder,
and just like that
once she reached home, the line went silent.

No goodbye.
No promise of next time.
Just the sound of rain,
and a conversation that left unfinished.