The Viking Poem by Seema joglekar

I
First, she slipped in my gaze like a caged sparrow straining under the duress of her fetters bursting for release, strangely familiar but aloof.
I was drawn to her as she walked like a runaway waterfall, impervious to the obstacles in her path, drunk in her resolve.
She moved like she carried a storm concealed in the knot of her tresses hiding a secret that could string tune to my heartbeats.
In my presence the calmness of her exterior disturbed, she hummed like a bee of a riled hive weaned off nectar.
Anguish lingered in her, like the last streak of fire from the sunset. She said she was the marigold that had stayed too long in its stem and lost her verve to the wind.
Like a heron skimming over the lake I had caused a few ripples. She looked at me like she had found a purpose for her wings.
II
One noon when under the unabashed sun our eyes first met, she seemed to say” If you stared any harder I shall pull you into my life”.
When I returned she looked bewildered as though I was the answer to the coin she had cast to make a wish. She went with her wings dusted in gold.
Her responses baffled her. She looked grave like a bud fearful of losing her essence in a kiss.
She fought; cajoled and negotiated with her every instinct till defeated she landed outside my door, fuming at me for all her exertions.
She gradually scratched and clawed her way into my life.
III
Once there she sat snug in my heart. My eyes followed her everywhere like she bore a miracle waiting to happen.
Each time she caught my eye she stumbled and tripped to my amusement like a toddler taking her first step.
In the quaking of our hearts she stood proud and defiant like a lone dew drop, quivering on the tip of a grass stem wary to take the plunge.
She walked in and out my door till a silent prayer came to rest on her lips. She cordially led me by the hand into her secret kingdom where the sky seemed too low to fit in all our fervor.
The love that tunes the strings of existences broke out in music and my heart was won.
There- she had cast her breath of spring in my life but I had failed to notice the splinters in her breath.
IV
Unmindful, she evoked a sense of aching void, I was the missing piece in her life, the crescent moon aching a fortnight to reach its complete perfection.
Sunsets no longer dilated my pupils, for somehow she managed to wriggle into it like the shrill scream of a kite overhead.
Under the starry sky, an entire night would trail by staring into her dreamy eyes. Eyes that held my gaze even in a crowd like the serenity of a lake-view held above all the scum floating around.
In the dark of the moonless night, she would pick me out, astounding me like that homing bird crossing miles to return home in the dark.
A slight gash on my hand would bring her rushing over, forgetting to lick her wounds after an overnight tiff. Like early light straining through the panes worried about the well-being of her late riser.
In the big palm of mine her palm would read mine, eager to align our paths in their clasp. She said, ” Your palm is like the great Earth which holds all”.
V
It was my turn now. I told her, ” I could not pluck the stars for you but would always hold you in their August presence.”
In her not otherwise demanding nature, her dreams and desires rose from their depths like the splash of fish in a lake, showing themselves to be seen and heard.I hooked them with my line cherishing them and sealing them with my deeds.
When agitated she extended her arm to touch me to assure herself like the clouds in a fury of passion descend to touch the hills.
Our forays into each other’s hearts continued over the years in a tireless maze of circles reaching heavenly depths.
She had begun to scribble straight trails to my heart, capturing in rhyme the cheer of the sun, moon and the stars, weaving her ardor in Nature’s tapestry, recreating me for her alone.
Now the sky between us stood guiltless and clear.
She brings out the best in me, making me soar higher, not like the bird with the best plumes but a bird with a borrowed song in its beating heart.
Now I want her by me, knowing I could brave any storm with her beside me, deigning to even catch a rainbow nestled in the warmth of her hand.
VI
Come now, our time has come to redeem ourselves, countless meetings and partings must be paid in full. For the shores seek a price – an eternal life under the glimmer of stars.
Come; pack your bare essentials, for now I come to whisk you off your feet, your knight in dusty armor.
Come; take my hand with your feet grounded firm on earth.



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4th MAy 2014