THIS WINTER Poem by Mangalesh Dabral

Last winter was difficult
Remembering it I shiver this winter
Though the days are not so severe

Last winter mother departed
A love letter went missing a job was lost
I don't know where I wandered in the nights
The many telephone calls I made
My own things kept falling
All over me

This season I unpack the clothes worn last year
- Blankets cap socks a muffler -
I gaze at them intently
Sure that those days are past
This winter can't really be as hard.