Memoirs

I will never forget the years When the leaves dripped sparkling droplets And the glistening stream rushed forth Rolling pebbles and stones on the way My naive heart found a place to stay To ponder upon the journey till then Beneath turning and tossing desires In the noisy pattering of raindrops Which calmed my soul and thoughts When evenings seemed fresh and alive I wondered if that was my paradise When a fierce wind would make me fly Yet I knew I waited for Autumn When the mornings seemed tranquil A little rhythmic yet too numb Shielded their unearthed stories When regrets and dreams collided And hopes and fears stood by their side Tried to melt the frozen blue nights When dried leaves got blown away Reluctant to move in swirls and hush When darkness got embraced by light To find an abode together somewhere Perhaps paying off an old debt in time To live with broken twigs and lost innocence To remember scars or strengths that healed you To love the falling snow outside or the warmth inside Because victories and defeats are one When stars seemed to change the destiny When evanescent lands became my utopia When wailing sobs became soothing whispers But some things are meant to be left as they were Some stories to be left unfinished and unrevealed For the pages have been turned by That is not the story of this Earth That is not some kind of an exile It is a frozen chunk inside every heart That rejoices on seeing rains or winds But finds comfort in the frozen numbness Because it feels one's own in reality Because it gives hope to find an abode Where autumn is too beautiful Where hopes and dreams collide And everything else is turned by the tide So I will stay there to rejoice the rains Until I know I must get lost and find myself again And wait till Winter brings the beautiful chill But I still wait for Autumn, which is mine Don't look for me over here again after a battle For I will be gone to where my journey takes me Numerous roads that I walked upon Splendid places that I visited Forgotten pieces of my existence The choices I made The fragments that built me I owe it all to you Every year when you arrive I visit the shades of my history All through my solitary seasons And find that I am born Each time I shed myself As snow melts through the leaves And the drops fall and merge somewhere No matter who I become, where I am You will always be a part of me And of all those phases that made me Autumn, I will never forget you May 11, 2020 Winner: 1