That Twenty-One Poem by Malabika Ray Choudhury

the yellow bird is back to the tranquil meadow where my soul finds true repose,
she didn't leave me....
I speak to her every day,
she tweets back with glee!

we talk about the illusory flamboyant days which have tip-toed away in a veil,
the glistening saffron-hued days when I was twenty-one,
with trancelike beat in my feet, enthralling song in my heart,
with dreamy eyes unfolding beauty of love!

with amber kindness in my soul,
with tangerine hope in my voice,
with azure grace in my walk,
with vermillion beauty in my dance.

that twenty-one is never really gone,
I still feel its demure whispering,
the hope, the dream, the cadence, the beat,
it's incredible! never left me!

Yellow Bird, I know you come from far,
where aquamarine clouds meet hazy mountains,
where shimmering ocean splashes the ruby-red horizon,
where chartreuse waterfalls descend on coral rocks...
I offer you all my songs,
my music, my soul,
my dream, my hope,
to carry it to your alluring land...truly amazing!

And sing, and sing, and sing!