The charm of my old woman

I remember my grandmother sitting on the verandah, talking to herself and reliving her life backwards during those days. 

Of fallen petals and dried down fountains

Of fulfilled desires and unfulfilled dreams

Of silent summers and trips up the mountains

Of the old mirror and its powders and creams

Of the village’s tales and long forgotten stories

Of a bandaged leg and the terrible fall

Of the marriage vows and the kitchen curries

Of ‘Ma’ and ‘Baba’, and the photo on the wall

Of the treasured memories of married life

Of the first word she taught him to write

Of the joys and tears of a mother and a wife

Of the bond she shared with him till ‘white’

Of the eyes that saw 93 autumns and 94 springs

Of fallen petals, her beginnings and endings.

-Poorvi

Hindi words used as a part of this poem:

Ma-> referred to her 'mother' lovingly

Baba-> referred to her 'father' affectionately