Breath & Shadow
2005 - Vol. 2, Issue 7
"Monsoon"
written by
Bimalanshu Shekar Malik
I begin my journey O Father,
For the regions of peace;
Sick for home I gather
Fragments of a shattered dream,
Dead, like storm-tossed leaves under bare trees;
Within the walls of the mind teem
Yesterdays; the soul is beckoned by childhood faces:
Thus, planning a search for fading traces
Of old, old friends, the lilt of vintage melodies,
A whistle, a shout, a waving hand,
Laughter cascading down memories,
With a catch at my throat I stand,
Quite alone, thinking as the day wanes,
If I shall be home before the rains.
"Monsoon" first appeared in the 2001 book Rhyme and Reason, published by poetry.com.
Born on August 1 in the year 1959, Bimalanshu Shekhar Mallik has been writing poetry for over two and a half decades. He has gone against the current global trend by choosing rhyme over free verse in much of his poetry. He declares his greatest indebtedness to W.B. Yeats, although other poets like Robert Browning, Theodore Reothke, and Sara Teasdale have also heavily influenced his work. He has taught English Language and Literature at the university level for many years. Currently, he is the Head of the Department of English at SelaQui World School, in India.