Black kite soaring
Red Fort domes below
Smog smothering all
Red Fort domes below
Smog smothering all
Weakened sun
Weakened lungs
Weakened resolve
Beauty and ugliness
Joy and hardship
Kindness and predation
This land of extremes
This country of paradox
Creating beauty from ugliness
Taking memories
Words and photos
Homeward bound
But changed
Still changing
Unforeseeable changes
Every time
I touch
This keyboard
Black Kite over Red Fort
Chandni Chowk
In Old Delhi
New Delhi, India
Chandni Chowk
In Old Delhi
New Delhi, India
Taken during travels, 2017
On the morning of my last day in India, I was treated to a glorious sunrise, made all the more beautiful by the choking, smoky fog spread thickly and uniformly across most of northern India. This place of contradictions.
The poem’s stanzas reflect, in order,
- What I saw that morning
- How I felt that morning, ready to return.
- What I experienced in India
- Why I’ll be sorting this experience out for some time yet.
- The memories and photos flew home with me. The worlds are still finding their way, one post at a time.
- India is not the kind of place one returns from untouched.
- And, of course, it speaks loudly to me every time I begin to write. And, every time, I change a little more.
Pix to Words 