You said I never showed it to you,
Nor did bother to give any clue;
So all you could think about the bells,
Was that they tolled for someone else.
But haven’t I said all there was to convey,
From the time I met a stranger crossing my way;
The robes professional, yet the appearance unkempt,
The gaze intense, yet the manner indifferent.
Caught in the whirlwind of a busy life,
I refused to give anyone a look twice;
Mind dismissed you as a part of the crowd,
But the heart voiced the difference aloud.
Time and again, when our eyes caught,
You looked glum and strangely distraught;
We all were together most of the waking hours,
But looked as if miles separated you from others.
The passion lay simmering in your eyes,
Though I failed to figure the reason why;
The haunting mystery was laid to rest, nonetheless,
As I chose to discard it as mere haughtiness.
Days passed with no exchange of words,
As we lay retreated in our own worlds;
There was no reason to be otherwise,
But fate intervened and threw the dice.
An informal outing was shortly due,
And I was told to approach you;
The matter in itself was quite insignificant,
But your bright smile did dispel clouds of discontent.
The outing introduced a whole new You,
With peals of laughter, yet spells of blue;
A baggageless traveler, an effortless dancer,
A voluble speaker, yet an inveterate loner.
Our lives were more cordial now, our encounters fleeting,
And not a day started, without your smiles of greeting.
There would be something special in that glance,
As I tilted my head up to see you askance.
That was the time I knew it was love,
Never anticipated, though willed from above;
Since then, I’ve been telling you and how…
If you ask ‘when’, I’ll tell you now:
When the pounding heart beat noisily,
And the shallow breath caught heavily;
When the eyes lowered, the cheeks colored;
The voice stammered, and the lips quivered.
When the work was just an excuse,
And I studied your face with amuse.
When the printouts were taken calmly,
And you failed to notice how much timely.
When the lift would be too full to be in,
And I would stand together hiding a grin.
When the buses were increasingly late,
And my heart prayed for a longer wait.
When I stood to admire the magnificent fall,
The reason being to match your leisurely stroll.
When the people just ceased to be.
All remaining just you and me.
That was the time I could say no better,
Though what you say is different altogether;
Tell me, dear, then who is to blame,
You, or me, for playing the game.
And now… when you’re gone,
While I stand all alone….
The memories blur – to a haze,
Making me wonder – in a daze;
How could everything seem so small!
Was I really silent, after all?!
