walking alongside time
step for step
running at its pace,
the paths will widen,
turn smooth and simple,
oracles have spoken
and still they preach
yet the path beneath our feet
may not have heard them.
and the path’s rhythm
and our own beats
somehow fail to play in tune
with each other

days slip back
time keeps running ahead.
clothes preserved in boxes
weakened at the creases
rip apart
the moment they’re worn.

beautiful memories
long held in our minds
as solace for today’s distress
too fade

yesterday’s clouds
cannot provide shade
for today’s scorching sun.
still,
the mind keeps searching in the past
for some cloud, some tree
where one can find rest
often the sun’s heat
doesn’t scorch much,
but the path beneath our feet
keeps asking questions
for which
we have no answers
at least not today
and the distress deepens
with questions
that we leave
unanswered

©️shashikant dudhgaonkar