It was this yet another train
that lumbered back into Gwalior
casting long shadows
heavy with another day
snaking into a deepening dusk
by the fort wall.
Shadows that never grew old
piled one over another
all these years
waited for trains of a desire and hope
to merge
and long nights of bandit memories
ruthless, cold and grim
seeking refuge in the shade
of your eyelash
now beckoning
now touching
only to be lost
again within stones
streets and the sun behind your
palace spire.
– Dr. Amitabh Mitra
May 25, 2003