Monday 16 March 2009

Baffled *

Baffled I am all of a sudden—
Why I am I and not you?
Have you ever wondered, dear,
Why you are you and not me?

I feel your fingers twined around mine,
Your pulse throbbing on mine;
But I can’t say which is which—
The beats diffuse as mist into mist.

You open the window and look outside:
I see through your eyes a solitary crow
High on the swaying sparkle of a tree
Preening its feathers warm in the sun.

Its feathers all damp from last night’s rain,
It shakes its fluff in shuddering bouts—
Oh how it itches, itches, beneath the wings!
How nice the sharp beak combing, scratching!

Baffled I am all of a sudden—
Why I am I and not the crow?
Have you ever wondered, dear,
Why you are you and not the crow?

*****

2 comments:

Balachandran V said...

The mystery of life is just that - a mystery. The bafflement is not in the fact, but that we have to have an answer for everything. Best thing would be to sniff at it like a dog, keep it for future reference and leave it like that.

Beautiful scenes - i can see you two standing, holding hands and looking out through the window at the crow - there! it is cawing outside!

P. Venugopal said...

It goes beyond me, she and the crow. These are the first steps. One can go on climbing to the summit asking at each step this question. I am confident of it, Balan.