Ode to tahseen

Remember how we loved the rains
Getting drenched to the core
Running around like free souls
Needles piercing our bodies
Wrapping us in shared ecstasy
Greens all around us.
Hungry eyes hoping they could be us
Celebrities of Park Street
Daring to live and beguile
U and I
Oblivious to the world.

Remember how we sat in class
Huddled together at a remote corner
Sneering at the boring lectures
Giggling at the professor’s gestures
Restless in our imposed lassitude
Writing our incoherent thoughts
On thin single lined copies that talked
Didn’t they know we had our own space?
Didn’t they know we created a whole new world of words?
Why couldn’t the professors just catch hold of us?
U and I
Impenetrable in our togetherness

Remember how we walked around the streets of kolkata
Struggling under the dreadful scorching sun
Fearing we’d get tanned
Shading our sweaty faces
With bags, rags, copies, files and hands
Just to prevent sunburns
Your slow footsteps struggled to match my hurried catwalk
I always turned back to look at your permanent grimace.
Your spoilt slothful innocence
Endearing at its best
People leaned out from cars to look at us
Shopkeepers couldn’t help but notice us
We made heads turn
U and I
Two rivers flowing under the open skies.

Remember our great escapes
How we hoodwinked three professors
Slipped out and bunked class
To watch a movie
Or sit at ccd
We roamed around pantaloons
Window-shopped at Westside
You enjoyed the attention of a salesman at planet m
Wherever we went you paid the bill
And I paid the tip.
How we avoided your father’s friend
You walked ahead
I walked behind
What if your bitchy relatives saw us?
What if juicy rumors did their rounds?
We had thrown caution to the winds
U and I
Perfect partners in crime.


Remember how much we talked
Face to face, talking copies
Phone calls smses et all.
We woke up to each other’s voices or words.
We went to sleep with the same
We would study together in our separate homes
Racking our tired brains.
Is there anything that escaped our words?
Is there anything that we failed to express?
We were together even when miles apart
U and I
And time just flied….

Remember how good we looked together
Our classmates would bet their lives
Believing there was something between us
Even the professors were curious
We stood out among the crowd
We stood out among the audience
You pretty faced beautiful girl
I the tall handsome n gentle man
Weren’t we what adolescent dreams are made of
How they wanted us to be what we were not
How they wished they could prove our denial wrong!
U and I
Raising the bar
Selling romantic dreams

Remember how much we shared
Our joys and sorrows were inextricably linked
I cried your tears
You smiled my smile.
How we would sing along.
How we would love the same songs
How we would not share a word sometimes
And yet know each other’s most hidden thoughts
Our silences even spoke to each other.
Our shadows walked together
Your eyes would question
My eyes always had the answers
Didn’t they envy what we shared?
Didn’t they wish our story was theirs?
U and I
Inebriated
On an emotional high…

Remember always the times that have passed
Now we have busy lives
We have our own journeys to tread
We have our own battles to win
We have our own separate lives to lead
Yet somewhere we are connected
Yet somewhere our souls communicate
Yet somewhere our love is intact
Yet somewhere our feelings still match
Yet somewhere we are just the same old people
Yet somewhere we are just the way we are
U and I
‘hum’ and ‘tum’
Us always
Us forever!!!!!!

by zaid al baset
© 2007 by Zaid