The place by then had become a sea of men
The crowd steadily swelling into an eddy
With my bag and baggage tucked under my seat
I waited impatiently for the train to leave
The departure, scheduled for early morn at four
Without any further delay, the engine started to heave
I sat lazily looking out, watching in the glare
The landscape gaining speed behind
Like a stallion, my mind raced back
With memories blowing in like wind
Yesterday evening the house was full
Many had come to see me off
My mother briskly moved up and down
Serving tea and snacks, ignoring her cough
For the first time, leaving the comfort of my home
I was venturing into the shark infested waters
And going to face life squarely
Wondering how my stay away, my life alters
By evening when everyone had left
I sat with my parents for an early dinner
The sumptuous meal so thoughtfully served
In no way, did my appetite trigger
Silent moments skipped by
The laboured attempts made by my Dad
To make the scene a little lively didn’t help
But to the grim air, did a pinch of melancholy add
After dinner with a heavy heart,
I withdrew to my room upstairs.
While still engaged in the last minute packing
I just chanced to look back unawares
There stood my mother behind the curtains
Looking at me with eyes welled
Under a strange urge I ran to her
In a tight embrace we stood with moments stilled
Kissing me a warm goodnight
Silently she walked away without a word
At the thought of a long separation
Unable to wink an eye, I lay unspeakably sad
I don’t know if I fell asleep!
When it was still dark, my mom woke me up
May be with the first ring of the alarm
And springing to my feet, I quickly got dressed
Gettting into the taxi waiting down
And waving an abrupt bye,
Ignoring the two sets of misty eyes
To an unknown destination, I did fly
With a jolt though the rumbling behemoth
Came to a halt, picking men from another station
Those, office bound and travelling far
It started once again chugging off to its destination
I knew it was the wee hours of the morn
Sunlight sneaked in through shades of grey
I could still feel the residual chill of the night
And couldn’t say if my mind was sad or gay