DIWALI—Jagari Mukherjee

DIWALI

For Inam

When I light the earthen lamps—
(each flame a golden pearldrop),
Inamorato, you dispel the dark;

fairy lights dance
on the terraces of my soul
where open spaces
cease to be vacant lots;

the ends of my white-gold saree
flow like the Ganges
fanned by the same air
blowing through your locks—

your eyes lamplit in the evening,
I press a hand to your cheek...
you hold my palm against your heart…

Inamorato, golden pearldrop,
you dispel the darkness
of a world at war…