SOMETIMES*

Sometimes

I sneaked up to you

From behind to see

If you were waiting for me.

Sometimes

I delayed the encounter

By dallying in the corridor

Watching secretly,

Your impatience.

At such times

I cheered my anxious heart

That the fire within

Is not put out.

Any day

You can chide me

For not being a dutiful son

Or a fond brother

And I shall see in your eyes

The same complaint

For yourself.

*First published in the anthology Rainbow Hues, Aadi Publishers: Jaipur, 2014