I no longer like malls

I no longer like malls

With their crowds young and old

Their movie theatres and tattoo parlours

Their bookstores and ice cream –

I no longer like evening walks

Under tall trees lining the pavement.

The waves of the sea

Hold no attraction for me

As they grow from out of the deep –

And shatter on the shore.

The lights of the living city

Once were a jeweled necklace flung around

The dark throat of the night.
Now all they are is spots of glitter
On the rusting iron of the corroded world.

I no longer like waking in the morning

Or going to bed at night.

Now they hold nothing for me

But agonised memory.

Only you

In everything

Only you.

Copyright B Purkayastha 2014