Shiuli Blooms

After a sleepless rain-drenched night,

I walk this gray September dawn:

The gusts of wind shake the last drops

From the showered leaves on to me;

And from the wayside Shiuli tree

One white bud has fallen on me

Like the very breath of autumn.

It is a small thing, still breathing

Her sweet fragrance into my hands,

Just a white bloom, an orange stalk:

A tiny inch of perfection,

The first of September’s flowers

Telling me that the season of fall,

This new autumn is upon me.

I remember how much you loved it.

So I carry it in my hands

To keep by my empty bedside:

When you awake, wherever you are,

Perhaps you may find the familiar smell

And wonder from which distant tree

The wind has carried it home to you.

Diptesh Ghosh