SUTAPA CHAUDHURI

Witness

The scent of Alstonia fades.
Across the silent phone lines —

dusk gathers, murky and ominous,
solidified in the labyrinthine mazes

of memories. Clear eyes cloud,
dim with the dust that chokes

the once pristine night air.
The whizz of a rasping breath

the only sound that scatters
the false halo of serenity surrounding

the lustreless light bulbs; the particles
of light making hazy the idle

reminiscences of lonely street lamps,
forever on guard at the corners

of deserted streets. The lone house,
once lit up by laughter and lovers’ trysts,

now stands a witness to passing time —
and the slow death of a togetherness.