blue skies and pink skies

niveda wants to make a perfect paper boat..

in these dog days ,

she is counting on the mirages to set sail..

while we dissatisfy her 

with our pragmatic talk

she is learning again 

her alphabet lessons..

probably thinking 

 the grown-ups

must practice them too,

daily ,in secret,

long after she goes to sleep.

after all, W is not an easy alphabet..

not in the practice books..

she colors her skies pink 

and dresses up in bright yellow..

the crayons accompany her 

every afternoon in those siesta lands..

she sleeps with her mouth open 

always, three pillows around her..

i am contented with the imperfect hull,

anyway, 

i have stored it in my warm cupboards 

for the rainy days..

in the half completed drawing books,

i paint the skies blue

dress the little cartoon  in black and white..

for the offices of the future..

now the homework is over

and i remind myself 

to tell niveda 

to use the toy cars 

in these hot summer roads..

Reviews

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. incredibly vivid and poignant, dear V. ... beautifully written ... the narrative and thought progression is just amazing ... very consuming and overwhelming ...