The Girl In My Wallet (2) Poem by Rajesh Kumar

These six years
There’s yet that freshness
Lingering upon her faded face
Echoing traces of the way she used to smile
And it’s lasted me a lifetime now.

It little matters
Her whereabouts these days
For she’s been wedded to my leather,
And these six years that she’s been
Her powers have been on decline
And she brings no new troubles,
Nor does her smile hurt
The way it did.

Forget her
Forgive her for being there:
As now
She can’t be elsewhere;
For then she fails
To work up the magic.
This Girl
In my
Wallet.

1998