let me go
i had told you then
your smile unleashed a sea
in the ravines
palaces were swept off
to a distant sky
and a painted afternoon burnt the fort
for ever
yes, we must all leave, you concluded
the reign has finally ended
to a long summer that had once brought us together
birds that had flown off somewhere
our kisses stayed only with hurts
breathing against ageless stones
and a rainbow that climbed an arid bastion
leaped to escape a promised
another day.
Amitabh Mitra