It was easier to recall in a poem.

I can’t remember.
Not as well as I’d like to.
How to hold on to those moments?
The ones that left me determined to change
but are fading.
So easily.

He followed me
for the longest time.
“Henna, henna. Will you buy?”
He wasn’t the first.
I made the mistake
of acknowledging his presence.
He guided us
I questioned him.
School. Family. Struggle.
100 rupees –
A mere band-aid.

I could turn my back
on a beggar.
It became necessary.
But he haunts me
How could I have denied Him?
He barely spoke. Hand outstretched.
My memory tells me
I looked right past.
I looked again
He was appealing to his own.
Immediate regret, hesitation.
Decision reversed.
I looked again
He was gone.

14 days
She was a permanent fixture.
Her home
outside our home.
Everything she had
in a little silver bowl.
Winter had claimed Varanasi
The comfort of a blanket
seemed best.
But –
The night took it.


Here I am:
Comfortable.