THE MIND

Raphael,

on looking straight into your eyes 

I notice a turbulent, violent sea

and your gloomy, cloudy face.

Raphael,

what has gone wrong

with you?

You were not like this once.

Your eyes were calm and

quiet, serene and tranquil once

that reflected on your face and eyes.

You were a handsome youth

with enormous pleasure

you were talkative with

a pleasant smiling face

eloquent and often used

to say life is worth enjoying

while you were flanked by us.

You often cracked jokes

and made us happy

and elevated our sagging spirits.  

You didn’t have any love-affair,

you didn’t believe in romance either

and therefore a girl had no place in your life.

For you

romance was a mockery

and admonished us to

keep away from romantic relationships .

Raphael,

what transpired in your life

after a lapse of five years

something, somewhere had gone awry

and what might be that ‘something’?

Like a tortoise

withdrawing into its shell

you too have turned

a hermit like a tortoise

and has found

solace into your shell.

Raphael,

once what you hated

most was loneliness

and now you have fallen

in love with the

same loneliness and monotony.

Like seasonal changes

you have evolved into

a strange species.

Raphael,

come out of your shell for good

and mingle with us , your old friends

and enter the mainstream

enter this world

and be that old Raphael

once again.