The sun sets
And mundanity manifests itself
In every corner of the ancient city.
The evening, a monochrome
Releases lazy fumes
Conjuring up images
A photomontage-
Each image, melting into another-
Liquid, oneiric.
Do they redefine our existence
And give us a sense of the here and the now?
Of our untainted, painless childhood?
Is it the same, old courtyard
Where many a languid noons whispered away?
On the swing, in that courtyard, the child oscillates
Between worlds-
We wake up to our present
As the evening slowly dissolves into a silent nocturne.
Presently working in Icon Commerce College, Labiba Alam was awarded the Degree of Philosophy by Gauhati University in September, 2018 for her research in the field of Indian English Theatre and Performance Theories. She has also authored a book of poems “Words and Moments” in 2013.
She believes that, silence needs to be manifested in beautiful ways and one of it is through versification. Some travels, physical or otherwise, need to be addressed and acknowledged to immortalise them and save them from being just another nonchalant thing. This poem occured as a result of a train journey in 2013 to Jammu.