Lockdown Day 7 - Pen Pal

Picture Courtesy : Diba

You know my old address,

But I have moved now!

Bring me all those letters that you've written to me

Telling me you were coping

And how?

You’d say that the distances would melt into nothingness!

Take me to the old town of Bombay

Infamous for small flirtatious encounters

Like you’d say!

Tell me about the fancy men,

Who’d befriend you, during the day!

Where promises to build careers and life

Were written on rocks

and sands,

Washed away, inattentively,

As if God’s command!

The beguiling beauty of the roads,

You captured all of them in your letters

And how?

You’ve sent all sweet kisses to an old address

But I’ve moved now!

***

Ever had a pen pal? There was once an exchange of addresses in our school and we made pen pals! There were no phones, no emails, and it was the 90s. I had a pen pal, and I may have written a few letters to him/her!

The anticipation of receiving the letter from the other end, always used to make me imagine the unimaginable! Without knowing who the other person and from what part of the world, opening up to someone who’s an absolute stranger was indeed scary. As a 12-13-year-old, I did it anyway. I perhaps, found a friend in someone whom I’d never meet or see ever!

Time passed, and the letters stopped! I don’t quite remember what we shared over letters!

But to the pen pal, long lost, if you are still sending letters to a place I don’t belong to anymore! I hope you get the metaphor!