Walk with me in my desert

barefoot in this morning dew

For a while —

Stand with me in this light of dawn

and let this music

fill the hollows

stretched by every note

drawn to a reverberating lull.

Peeling back rhythms

that are no longer

yours to wear

releasing into the cool sand.

Place your memories

stitched into pearl tassels

of your dupatta

flapping soft jingles into the desert.

I will dissolve what you shoulder

into indigo balloons

free to drift into the desert breeze.

Take you to a shallow pond

with rustling palms

where a dip in cool waters

releases your anchors of ache

Where a koel finds the morning’s tune

and you drift

with the coohoo in the desert

and the balloons

in the wake of raptors

glide the thermals.

With the touch of your hand

i forget, just long enough —

Walk with me in my desert

barefoot in this morning dew