An Open Autograph

AN OPEN AUTOGRAPH (To All My Friends There And Here, Then And Now) On the bald branches of the lightning That avoids the dark earth below; Around the nipples of the October rain That pamper the thousand lips of the earth; I see you all; believe me. On the receding waves that carry all the conches of the earth away into the bottom of the sea; In the lidless red eyes of the fishes That lie on the fishmonger's table; When you sprout as the fountain-head of the parched river; Now I see you accompanying the flower to cross today's turbulent river. When all the unseen children crisscross the busy roads into infinity; When you play with the orphaned tiger-cub in the wild within; Believe me; I see you all. While the female sweepers' fatigued hands scavenger all the condomed words along the streets; When the lonely walking sticks stoop along my old verandas; I see you all spinning around the earth. When you unbutton your mind to the sun; And your braless thoughts hang at my peeping window; When a mischievous finger wanders into the most willing navel; When Rahat Fateh Ali Khan burns my back with a thousand watts of energy; I see you playing cards with the gods. When the lunar night decides not to pluck the solar flower; When the unwanted sheman on the train tells the story of the seedless fruit-bearing tree; Believe me, I see you all here at my desk; Yes, when my pen speaks to me the most illegible words, The indecipherable of all. (The End)