Nitika Sawhney
That little house
Was it always empty, unoccupied?
the broken walls un-mended
trees outgrowing walls and seeping inside,
like a no man’s land
How the thunder and fierce rains fell its sheds and
the dripping water collected in left-out corners
and self-made pits
At the sun’s rising, the cows approaching
and waiting to feed on stale breads
.
Was this little house always empty, unoccupied?
Or were there happy, smiling men with neck-long hair
Women with headscarves, tired from the day but not life
Who rose before the sun to hide the day’s start-offs
and then picked up designated responsibilities
the girls fetching water and mothers cleaning and cooking
the men off to the farms, and then
all of them together at daytime for a hearty meal
and a relaxing noon-sleep!
.
Was that little house always empty, unoccupied?
or were there women who smiled at every passer-by
with curious eyes, to know their story
and mingle with creatures just like them
to share laughter and shed worries
and maybe not empty the house and leave unanswered queries
.
Was that little house always empty, unoccupied?
or was it full of untold stories?
.
Image Credit: Self
Wow..pure emotions stirred up.. more knowledge..more luggage..more burden.. we lost the real happiness and relaxing time in the name of development.. we’re always running..
So well said Balakarthi 😀💚 thanks for reading 💚
Wow… So many memories stirred up… Lovely piece Nitika… 💚💚💚
Aptly said Bala…
Thanks Kirti 💚💚
Glad it resonated with you 😀
Old ,abandoned houses always haunt me. Beautiful
Thankyou Mam
Glad it resonated with you 😀💚
So many emotions in one piece! Lovely read, Nitika!
Thankyou Pooja
Glad you liked 😀💚
Really brought up many memories of houses alive with sounds and then slowly dying. Your poem reminded me of AK Ramanujan’s folktales: he speaks of human tendency to weave stories, the word he uses is autotellic.
Thankyou so much Mumtaz
And double Thankyou for teaching me something new everytime! Your comments are full of insights 💚💚
Exaxtly what i think when i see old vacant houses. Beautiful.
True Mam! Vacant houses give way to so many questions and emotions.
This is such a magnificent piece Nitika. You’ve captured a variety of feelings in one frame. 💚Lovely girl. Sorry for reading it late… This is the only time I get for myself😪😪
Thanks a lot Sonali 💚💚 so glad you liked 😀😀 and no sorry pls, you read it in your busy schedule that in itself is a gift for me 😃💚
Very well crafted Nitika💚💚💚
Thankyou Indrani 💚💚
Beautiful!
Thanks a lot Sai 💕
It’s so beautiful. So many emotions expressed so beautifully. Loved it. ❤️
Thank you for reading Aarti 💚💚
Such a beautiful poem.
I also feel that houses are like museums. Whenever I have lived in rented houses, I have wondered about the previous owners and their lives.
Loved your poem.
Thanks a lot Moonmoon 💚💚
So glad you could relate ☺️