Stealing time

My parents and siblings,
servants I'd call with 'da'*, 'didi'*
in the end
Bunny and Buddy,
even that little me
left for good
the place we'd call home
some time ago.

Years later I stole in,
predicted by my aunt.
You know David’s Mrs. Murdstone*?
Or when David re-incarnated as Harry*
with the magic wand, had aunt Petunia*?
Well my aunt is worse than those
on whom Lumos maxima* wouldn’t work for sure.
She predicted I will be a thief one day because I took
a broken eye-brow pencil from her purse
to draw an impressive mustache on my face,
that I’d be a popper begging for love because
I didn’t accept her mouth-to-mouth kiss,
that this house, where I am standing now,
will be time-shut before me.

The garden and the kitchen smelt just the same,
trees with the same flowers and leaves,
then who turned the page
the neighborhood hasn't much changed
but the nib with which our story was written
has been time-broken.

Who could be there now I wondered
will I ring the bell and see
suddenly
I heard my mom calling my name out loud... Sona!*
But it can't be me
it's another mom calling another kid
but who could they be
are they ghosts or hosts
for a moment I saw myself dead and alive
no, no, I can't enter
and be a guest in my home
wait, did I hear Bunny and Buddy
I can’t see them, but I distinctly knew
they were approaching me
somewhere from the walls, sure they can smell me
are they coming to welcome me
if I’d come after ten minutes they’d greet me
as though I came after ten long years
or are they coming to shoo me away,
surreptitiously I disappeared.

It's the same home
the same story is being written again
only the nib has changed
I left the place, it had lost its relevance
once my permanent address
that’s how permanent things are, I thought.
But even today it carries the same name,
it cannot not be home.

For a moment, no for quite some time
I went back in time
thanks to this home
whose every corner still oozes
affection and warmth, never to lose congruity.

Everything is just the same
I went back to my car,
Stole away just the way I stole in.

​​​​​​​Note:

1. da, didi – used at the end for elder bro or sis to show respect, e.g. John da or Joan di
2. David, Mrs. Murdstone – David and her crooked aunt from David Copperfield
3. Harry, Aunt Petunia – Harry Potter and her aunt Petunia from Harry Potter
4. Lumos maxima – is a spell used by Harry on his aunt to make her bloat and fly
5. Sona - It's a very common name for boys and girls in Bengali households, like John. Bengalis have two names, one is used for the outside of the professional world, and the other for the personal world which would be used by immediate and extended family member. 


Nominated by UKAuthors for UK Anthology 2016-2017