Many a summer, I’ve been here,

The heat of April, I’ve seen.

But this April was only fear.

The heat of a pandemic, unforeseen.

 

I’m a curtain,

As blue as the summer skies.

Summers were merry, I’m certain.

But this one, terrifyingly it unfolded before my eyes.

 

The beloveds’ faces were little windows on screens,

While the neighbors’ windows were mostly shut.

“It’s in the air”, they screamed.

I couldn’t comprehend much.

 

I heard no din of traffic,

Neither did dust from roads lay on me.

I could hear the whispers of little birds like magic,

To be honest I was quite relieved.

 

Soon, I heard gasps for breath.

The silence had overstayed its welcome,

To many, it brought a death knell.

And they began praying for better times to come.

 

It’s now July,

The season of wind and rain.

Funny how time can be slow and yet it can fly.

I hope the skies open up and wash away all the pain.

 

I go to the laundry now and the shelf later.

Every July I wish to stick around,

To watch the raindrops splatter.

But after all that I’ve seen, my heart needs rest to come round.

 

A yellow curtain takes my place.

Its colour goes well with the grey sky, they say.

He’s got a smile on his face,

Loves watching the drops race across the window on a rainy day.

 

“There’s not much to smile about”,

I whispered to him while being taken off.

“The times have been hard. Yes.”

“But they’re better now and they will be”, he said.

 

“How’ve you got the strength to hope?”,

I asked in wonder.

“Haven’t we seen it all before?”, he said,

And left me to ponder.

 

“We’ve spent summers and monsoons,

Beside the window of life.

The world has been torn apart,

But it has been built time and time again amidst terror and strife.

 

To hope is the one thing we can do,

So do it well”, he said.

 

For hope is the blessing we carry,

The spark that flickers in our hearts.

The one that has made us persist before,

The one that will now show light.

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