What If

As I stretch on the charpoy

And reflect upon the day that was,

Look back at the battered roads,

And the choices I made, 

The turns I took and the bends I didn't,

To get where I stood, 

That full moon night, 

Along with the cool breeze,

Swung in a silly thought -

What if!

As my tired head sank into the warmth

Of my pillow,

As I tossed and turned,

And sleep played one more game

Of hide and seek,

Many faces lapped up into a dance,

Those that came in many colours,

Those that changed many, 

And many that were hidden from eyes 

Tucked away neatly behind several layers, 

Many words slipped up my ears,

Those that were said, but many that weren't

As my failing ears  joined the tired eyes, 

My mind had turned too weary,

To find an answer

To a wavering thought -

What if! 

When I lay on the green velvet,

Under the moonlit sky,

When the patches of cloud

Came and went,

When marigolds sparkled up a shine at night, 

And the moon tossed on the lake,

And my face turned moist that dewy night,

A gust of breeze blew in an eerie thought, 

From many winters back

When evenings were chill,

And cravings strong, deep and warm, 

When thoughts learnt to take wings,

And the air reminded of smells and sounds,

That's when a shooting star crossed the sky

And left me with a thought -

What if!

© Sashikant Mohanty