Bookstore

 

_{The plane was about to start,}

_{Leaving the city,}

_{I had a strange realisation:}

_{‘We missed THE bookstore.’}

_{I said softly.}

_{You can only smile back,}

_{Sob to hobe na….}

_{Chuckervertty Chatterjee & Co –}

_{How many evenings}

_{Had we not spent there together;}

_{In the dusty by-lanes of College Street}

_{Stood an ivory tower}

_{Dilapidated, crumbling}

_{Yet unblemished with time}

_{In that ramshackle building}

_{Flotsam and jetsam of treasure}

_{A sea of books}

_{Haphazardly strewn}

_{Testing you, teasing you}

_{Can you really identify riches}

_{When you see it?}

_{An old book lay in my hands,}

_{You sense the nostalgia,}

_{And smile}

_{‘The book will convey the message,’}

_{The anchor long left behind}

_{There was little more to carry}

_{Than musty memories}

_{‘That you yearn is enough -}

_{The bookstore will be happy now}

_{It gave away a part of its heart}

_{To the right mourner,’}

_{The flight starts - clouds float}

_{Where my city stood}

_{Just a few seconds ago…}