To like someone
gives a feel like cozying
under the shade of
A Bodhi or Sandalwood tree
or beneath a salubrious spring sky –
in tranquillity and solace;
words arrive effortlessly,
laughter travels without restraint,
and silence seldom feels heavy.
Two hearts walk in tandem
without wavering or fear of footprints.
Affection wears a simple face:
a smile remembered,
a message well taken,
a warmth that asks for little
and leaves behind
neither storms nor comebacks.
But love-
it’s different world altogether.
It arrives with umpteen tags:
ever thoughtful, restrained,
hesitant, inwardly burdened,
unsaid truths, misunderstanding,
pride, timing gone wrong,
emotionally connected…
yet physically apart.
Love trembles at the edge of confession,
renders the strongest voices unspoken,
turns confidence into fragile glass,
and arrays entire universe
inside diction and phrasing;
perhaps bound by
the fear of the rejection,
the worry of permanent loss.
For when the heart holds
depths too vast to trace,
words suo moto fade away
leaving a helpless space.
One constantly longs
not merely to see
but to share time and space,
mornings and evenings,
with deep affection and care
in the mundane corridors of life.
And yet, strangely,
the deeper the fondness,
warmth and tenderness,
the harder it becomes to express.
Eyes speak what lips cannot…
Small gestures carry
the burden of oceanic expressions,
boundless expanse of emotions,
delayed response & reply wounds –
a passing indifference unsettles,
and silence acquires a meaning.
Twosome may stand only inches apart,
both burning with the same secret fire,
yet neither daring enough
to name the flame.
In some cases,
hearts gather courage;
one hand extends,
the other hand responds.
The frozen distance lessens,
misgivings and misunderstandings
dissolve like the winter mist,
allowing love to bloom.
It begins to breathe freely,
enabling two companions
and two wandering lives
discover a lasting refuge,
an abiding home within each other.
But where
the words never arrive:
Time moves with own pace,
circumstances change and interfere.
Triggers and stimuli, such as
pride, fear, hesitation, misgivings –
each builds its own invisible wall…
And what could have become
a lifetime bond of togetherness
remains only a fancy and dream.
What eternally stays
is a quiet ache
perceived only by those
who loved deeply yet imperfectly.
Years later, with the changing time,
in crowded rooms, in changing seasons,
the memory compulsively haunts:
Those voices, those glances,
and moments that became forever.
And the wretched heart wonders…
What if magic word had been spoken?
What if one soul had waited longer?
What if love had found courage
before the luck ran out
and changed its destination?
For liking may leave behind
pleasant memories
and a lasting friendship.
But love –
indecisive, unspoken, unresolved…
often leaves behind
wounds and scars
that time seldom heals,
through a lifelong longing,
a recurring sense of loss and pain,
behind the haunting beauty
of a story that remained unfinished.
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