Dreams of a Snowfall

 

I have reached a far-off place

_{In my lonely dreams;}

_{Here perhaps, my trance}

_{Shows me reflections of myself;}

_{Brooding, grey skies,}

_{Border villages, deserted lone}

_{Blanched lands}

_{While I search for the mighty Kanchenjunga}

_{Is it all there to me? I mourn}

_{But the skies shimmer,}

_{Floating confetti - A flurry of snow}

_{The joy returns,}

_{Suddenly, as in dreamscapes}

_{There are ebullient tourists}

_{From the tropical nowhere of Calcutta}

_{To a snowstorm in the hills}

_{An old passenger in my dreams smiles,}

_{‘We have left Tiger’s Hill}

_{To come this far,}

_{Sometimes we have to look}

_{Beyond the king that is Kanchenjunga,’}

_{I look out at the showers of snow}

_{Indeed -}

_{Any peak will glisten in this cold abundance}

_{I realise the distinct shape}

_{Of a solitary peak,}

_{Not reaching for the skies}

_{Just standing, waiting}

_{To be draped by gloomy clouds}

_{Was it Pandim? Was it Rathong?}

_{A solitary peak}

_{Beautiful in its aloneness}

_{I did know}

_{It was not Kanchenjunga}

_{Yet, it looked like a mighty king}

_{Even without the crown;}

_{The snows continued}

_{The revellers rejoiced}

_{The peak simply existed.}

_{My quest had ended long ago…}

_{27th October 2026}

_{Cover image: Mt. Pandim}