Transactional Poem by Dilip Mohapatra

We all move on our assigned tracks
some by destiny and some by choice
but once a while our tracks merge
for sometime
when we walk together
in the wilderness or on the edge
balancing precariously on the precipice
and scanning the night sky
to reconfigure and reconstruct
the constellations
and Orion the mighty hunter
becomes a butterfly.

We then start to barter smiles for smiles
hugs for hugs
kisses for kisses
touch for touch
and exchange our bodies
minds and perhaps even souls
exploring the forbidden territories and
living those brief moments of ecstasy
perilously and serendipitously
and undertaking those brief journeys
which have no definite destination.

But alas feelings also have shelf life
and perhaps an expiry date
and could become putrid and stale
and could become a victim of entropy
if left to their own and
not renewed and refreshed
from time to time
while you are scared to come out
of the shades of your shelter
to the turbulent seas
the raging storms and the scorching sun
that once you dared...

... and then I wonder if I should waste
a poem on you
since you have nothing now to offer.

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