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Today is not My Birthday

July 10, 2014 | By Amitava Nag

A wistful poem about love and longing.

You followed me
everywhere, on the broken
rainbow and the stilted
waterfall,

I never asked you
to wish me luck,
or, to hold my hand
in the darkness of the city,
I never cried as I treaded alone
inside the room
to open the windows,
that lead me to the caravan
of ants and deceased forefathers

And,
I never begged you to
love me.

You followed me
everywhere, on the broken
rainbow and the stilted
waterfall, the placid mournings
of a crowded market place, to the
songs of a blind nightingale –

the placid mournings
of a crowded market place

I could feel you breathe
down my back

And yet,
I never begged you to
love me.

As the last trains
stammer on their way home,
I just wanted you to come out
of my shadow,
look at me, whisper
“How have you been, this long?”

More to read in poems by Amitava Nag

3 Poems about Forgetting, and Not

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About the Author

Amitava Nag ( 26 Posts)

Amitava Nag is an independent film critic based in Kolkata and editor of Silhouette. His most recent books on cinema are Murmurs: Silent Steals with Soumitra Chatterjee, 16 Frames and Smriti Sattwa o Cinema. His earlier writings include the acclaimed books Satyajit Ray’s Heroes and Heroines published by Rupa and Beyond Apu: 20 Favourite film roles of Soumitra Chatterjee published by Harper Collins India. He also writes poetry and short fiction in Bengali and English – observing life in a platter. He can be reached at amitavanag.net.
All Posts of Amitava Nag

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