Last Sunday
around 1:15 p.m.
I turned old.

A hundred butterflies
gathered for winter jamming
inside my left knee joint.

A couple of snakes
crossed over each other
inside my right foot.

The chair I sat on wobbled,
the spoon I ate with shivered
and the cat I chased stayed put.

The wind faintly carried
the odour of ointments
from my buckling body.

A sad black cardigan
hugged gently my white shirt
in a lonesome embrace.

My eyes strained to read
the fine print of that kid
who wrote his longings.

Winter wars have left me
with broken birthday candles
and an air of insanity.

---

Dr. Amit Shankar Saha is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Seacom Skills University. He is also a widely published award-winning poet with a collection of poems to his credit titled “Balconies of Time.”